Google is introducing several new initiatives in an attempt to ward off fake news in correlation with the upcoming elections of Europe.
Predominantly, the search engine giant is focusing on its video-streaming subsidiary – YouTube by launching publisher transparency labels for the Europe-based users. These labels will show news sources that have received government or public funding and will help the users get a better idea of the content source.
Additionally, YouTube will highlight credible sources like BBC News or FranceInfo in Top News and Breaking News categories to ensure that the European residents have an easier time accessing verified and authentic news. Currently, the features are rolling out for UK, France, Germany and other European nations but Google intends to bring it to other countries soon as well.
Last year, YouTube faced a lot of backlash regarding false news that randomly appeared in users trending section on its app. For example, a top trending video claimed that Marjory Stoneman Douglas student was a paid actor. With the crucial elections just around the corner, Google aims to mitigate the issue and prevent any further scrutiny from regulators.
Google has also introduced a specific section in its Google News format by the title of “2019 European elections” where the top ranking election topics can be easily found. Google Trends will also cover data-driven stories and relevant facts about the elections along with various tools and support to verify the news.
Lie Junius Director, Google's Public Policy Director, explains that: "By partnering with trusted fact checking organizations, these new tools can help voters get and stay informed, better understand the political advertising they see and scrutinize and understand rival claims throughout the elections."
However, the problem revolving around fake news is vast and it is too early to say how much these implementations by Google would help the EU voters in finding legitimate information. In fact, the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker recently stated that Google has not done enough to safeguard users from fake news regarding the elections.
Photo: sinonimas via Getty Images
Read next: True Or False? Spot Fake News On Internet With These Tips
Predominantly, the search engine giant is focusing on its video-streaming subsidiary – YouTube by launching publisher transparency labels for the Europe-based users. These labels will show news sources that have received government or public funding and will help the users get a better idea of the content source.
Additionally, YouTube will highlight credible sources like BBC News or FranceInfo in Top News and Breaking News categories to ensure that the European residents have an easier time accessing verified and authentic news. Currently, the features are rolling out for UK, France, Germany and other European nations but Google intends to bring it to other countries soon as well.
Last year, YouTube faced a lot of backlash regarding false news that randomly appeared in users trending section on its app. For example, a top trending video claimed that Marjory Stoneman Douglas student was a paid actor. With the crucial elections just around the corner, Google aims to mitigate the issue and prevent any further scrutiny from regulators.
Google has also introduced a specific section in its Google News format by the title of “2019 European elections” where the top ranking election topics can be easily found. Google Trends will also cover data-driven stories and relevant facts about the elections along with various tools and support to verify the news.
Lie Junius Director, Google's Public Policy Director, explains that: "By partnering with trusted fact checking organizations, these new tools can help voters get and stay informed, better understand the political advertising they see and scrutinize and understand rival claims throughout the elections."
However, the problem revolving around fake news is vast and it is too early to say how much these implementations by Google would help the EU voters in finding legitimate information. In fact, the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker recently stated that Google has not done enough to safeguard users from fake news regarding the elections.
Photo: sinonimas via Getty Images
Read next: True Or False? Spot Fake News On Internet With These Tips
