Google launched a fact checking tool in its search results worldwide, its latest initiative to help restrain the spread of misinformation and ‘fake news’.
“For the first time, when you conduct a search on Google that returns an authoritative result containing fact checks for one or more public claims, you will see that information clearly on the search results page,” Google explained in a blog post.
In October, Google tested the feature in some of the countries. This feature will also get implemented on Google News, where news articles will be judged true or false by ‘Politifact’ and ‘Snopes’.
Google has listed a number of rules for publishers to follow. Publishers wishing to be included in the fact check feature just need to add some additional code to their websites.
“Even though differing conclusions may be presented, we think it’s still helpful for people to understand the degree of consensus around a particular claim and have clear information on which sources agree,” Google said.
Google has worked with 115 fact-checking groups globally for the initiative, which began last year.
Social networking giant ‘Facebook’ already has a new tool in news feeds to help users determine whether shared stories are real or fake.
Google’s move comes amid intensified criticism of internet companies’ inability to tackle fake news and misinformation. Google has been one of the companies under fire and has been making moves to improve how it tackles such content.
