Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Wants To Rank Websites Based On Facts Not Links

Posted by samzenpus on from the just-the-facts dept.

wabrandsma writes about Google's new system for ranking the truthfulness of a webpage. "Google's search engine currently uses the number of incoming links to a web page as a proxy for quality, determining where it appears in search results. So pages that many other sites link to are ranked higher. This system has brought us the search engine as we know it today, but the downside is that websites full of misinformation can rise up the rankings, if enough people link to them. Google research team is adapting that model to measure the trustworthiness of a page, rather than its reputation across the web. Instead of counting incoming links, the system – which is not yet live – counts the number of incorrect facts within a page. 'A source that has few false facts is considered to be trustworthy,' says the team. The score they compute for each page is its Knowledge-Based Trust score. The software works by tapping into the Knowledge Vault, the vast store of facts that Google has pulled off the internet. Facts the web unanimously agrees on are considered a reasonable proxy for truth. Web pages that contain contradictory information are bumped down the rankings."

6 of 375 comments (clear)

  1. Google is becoming useless by Ozoner · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This sounds like a great improvement.

    Some years ago if I searched for a data sheet for an Electronic Component, I could rely on a direct link to the PDF in the first hit or so.

    Now however, any worthwhile result is often many pages down the list. The first page or two are full of "Are you searching for xxxx? We don't have that right now, but here's a great way to earn big dollars!!".

    Google is so badly scammed that I usually don't bother. I hate to say it, but even Bing is better now.

  2. Re:By facts, not links? by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It had come a long way, then it started being manipulated by ideology pushing extremists that have become very adept at abusing the hell out of labrynthian policies to the point that even when the author of a news article flat out says "They're lying, I never said that at all" it's the author that gets punished.

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  3. FEO by Kunedog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If this ever happens, expect Fact Engine Optimization to become a new industry, and do exactly what SEO did to the reliability and utility of search engines.

    1. Re:FEO by thieh · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It'will be interesting to see whether websites of some particular political party or lobbying group get downranked so much to disappear from search results completely.

    2. Re:FEO by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 4, Interesting

      though there were idiots like Columbus who were convinced the world was much smaller then the generally accepted size.

      There is a certain amount of evidence that Columbus lied about how big he thought the world was, in order to convince the Spanish crown to finance his expedition.

      It's not like the New World was completely unknown in Europe before Columbus - FLemish fishermen were drying fish in Newfoundland before Columbus was born. And it's quite possible that Columbus knew that.

      If so, and in light of Spain's interest in breaking the Portugese monopoly on trade with the Far East, a little "creative interpretation" of the world's size might have been sufficient to convince the Spanish Crown that a trip west was a worthwhile investment....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  4. Re:can't wait to see it work on fox news web site by Harlequin80 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The stomach ulcer thing was two Australia scientists, Barry Marshall and Robin Warren. They claimed, in 1982, that stomach ulcers were caused by H. Pylori but because that bacteria was common in the intestinal tract already the idea was shot down as incorrect. They spent 2 years trying to infect piglets with it then gave up and Barry drank a full petrie dish of the cultured bacteria. He suffered symptoms within 3 days, and had significant ulcers and gastritis after a week.

    As a result of this test and the observed symptoms the medical community accepted their findings. They were awarded a nobel prize, in '96 I think.