Categories: Mobile & Electronics

3 ways Google will begin fighting fake news

  | 
Team Clark is adamant that we will never write content influenced by or paid for by an advertiser. To support our work, we do make money from some links to companies and deals on our site. Learn more about our guarantee here.

Google took a lot of heat last year for the role that fake news stories which ranked high in its search results may have helped sway the result of our nation’s historic 2016 election.

Now the search engine giant has a plan to fight back against fake new stories.

Read more: Warning: Sophisticated new twist to old Facebook scam

Cracking down on Google’s fake news problem

Google estimates that 0.25% of all searches return “offensive or clearly misleading content” on a daily basis, according to VP of Engineering Ben Gomes.

Effective immediately, here are three steps the social media giant is taking to combat that bad content.

New guidelines for search evaluation

Google uses real people to gauge the quality of search results. So the company is updating its training materials “to provide more detailed examples of low-quality webpages for raters to appropriately flag.” With the new guidelines in place, the process of pushing low-quality content down further in the search results will happen organically.

Better ways to report bad search results

The average web user will now more easily be able to flag suspect content that appears in the Featured Snippets at the top of the search results page and also in the Autocomplete feature that finishes your search term for you when you’re typing.

More transparency coming to the search process

Google is giving users a look at the nuts and bolts of Autocomplete and the removal process for anyone who’d like to see.

In addition, the How Search Works site has been updated with new info.

Read more: The #1 Facebook security feature you’re probably not using

Your iCloud account could be vulnerable to hackers

This post was last modified on April 28, 2017 1:58 pm

Recent Posts

Why Do Costco and Target Allow Cell Phone Salespeople? And Are They Legit?

You walk into a Costco browsing for treasures and hoping to find some delicious free…

8 hours ago

Chase Increases Sign-up Bonus for Popular Credit Cards for Limited Time

If you've been considering signing up for one of the Chase Sapphire credit cards, now…

3 days ago

6 Home Expenses You Have To Budget For (Beyond Your Mortgage)

The costs associated with owning a home go way beyond the amount on the mortgage. …

3 days ago

Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Before Retirement or Invest?

Inflation hits people on a fixed income the hardest. Say you're retired. You're living off…

3 days ago

Should I Fire My 1% Financial Advisor To Save on Fees?

Deciding to save and invest are great habits. But once you check that box, your…

4 days ago

Fubo Drops Popular Channels Amid Dispute with Warner Bros. Discovery

If you're considering subscribing to Fubo, you need to be comfortable missing out on some…

5 days ago