In Heated Election Season, Google Spotlights Debunkers With 'Fact Check' Label
October 14 2016 - 4:09PM
Dow Jones News
By Nathan Olivarez-Giles
Amid what is arguably one of the most heated and divisive
presidential elections in U.S. history, Alphabet Inc.'s Google is
adding a new "fact check" label to myth-busting stories that appear
in Google News search results.
The tag doesn't apply to every news story where journalists
verified their facts, but next to articles that verify or debunk
claims. Areas of key concern are "urban legends, politics, health
and the media itself," Google said in a blog post.
Google said it has already identified 100 websites dedicated to
fact checking, and the goal of the new tag is to "shine a light" on
the efforts of such organizations "to divine fact from fiction,
wisdom from spin." Among the first are PolitiFact and Full
Fact.
Google said that websites and news organizations can also apply
to the Google News team to have the tag applied to their
fact-checking stories.
In a page outlining the criteria for such organizations, Google
says it is looking for groups that are "nonpartisan, with
transparent funding and affiliations." To avoid sites that
hyperfocus on particular politicians or issues, Google says the
fact-checking organization "should examine a range of claims in its
topic area, instead of targeting a single person or entity."
Google was recently accused of manipulating search results to
favor Hillary Clinton, but it denied the allegation. Facebook also
recently caught criticism for left-wing bias in its "Trending
Topics" module. The social network revamped the product as a
result.
The "fact check" label joins others Google News already uses to
identify article types, such as "local," "opinion," "satire,"
"blog" and "highly cited."
The tag will show up in Google News listings found on
Google.com, and the Google News & Weather app found on iOS and
Android. The new tag is making its debut in the U.S. and U.K., with
more countries coming later.
The new tag is part of a continuing effort at Google to compete
as the preferred choice for finding online news stories. For many,
Facebook Inc. has become a news destination. Facebook doesn't use
tags to identify article types as Google does. But while both are
racing to make news stories load quicker, Facebook in particular
has had some trouble weeding out clickbait and fake news stories --
something Google News' algorithms are currently better at.
Write to Nathan Olivarez-Giles at
Nathan.Olivarez-giles@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 14, 2016 16:54 ET (20:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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