Google’s battle against fake news is being expanded to the whole world. News search results will now be displayed with extra information about who said what and whether the claim can be backed up by facts.
Not every publisher will receive a fact check, and the news source must first be using Schema.org ClaimReview on their pages to be included in the expanded results. Google will also be implementing an algorithm for determining authoritative sources of information before allowing them to be included in the fact check.
The idea here is that the Google wants to remain independent of the checking; and is instead relying on its partners at Jigsaw to verify claims. Google also admits that different researchers may come to different conclusions about a news source, and warns that its fact checking is more of a guideline than the final word on the matter.
Google currently has over 115 organisations working to verify news stories to combat fake news; which is easily more than most other technology companies has done so far.
Admittedly, most of this fact checking will come from Western sources and is unlikely to include local news. Unless local news sources decide to also adopt Google’s fact checking in order to increase their legitimacy in the eyes of the public. On the other hand, the MCMC is also trying to pull its weight by debunking fake news in Malay.
[Source: Google]
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