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Google Tackles Fake News With Global Fact-Checking Rollout (betanews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the doing-its-part dept.

Google is calling on fact-checking organizations to help it bust fake news -- but it's starting in a small way. From a report: Google's Fact Check feature is not new, but today the search giant is rolling out the feature around the world. A global rollout is important if such a tool is to have any real impact. It's all well and good have reports fact-checked on one side of the world, but it's of little use if the same fake stories remain unquestioned and untested elsewhere. Google is doing its part by making the Fact Check label available in Google News everywhere, and spreading it into search results in all languages as well. The Fact Check label has been around since October, providing an at-a-glance way to determine whether or not a particular story has been verified as true. Google admits that it will not be possible to fact-check every single search result it displays, and the company points out that it is not responsible for the actual fact-checking process.

5 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Who decides what is fact? by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is this fact checking going to be like Politifact, which has said that an article or tweet is "mostly false" while saying that the facts it contains are true?

    --
    The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    1. Re: Who decides what is fact? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      So the OP is correct, "mostly false"would be fair news when most of the facts are true.

      He's spot on as well. The liberal media will decide on what's fact and what's not. Remember how Hitlery had the election in the bag! Trump had no way of winning. That was fun to watch though. Crying libtards at hitlery's convention. Classic stuff!

      Most media is fake news.

    2. Re:Who decides what is fact? by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 3, Interesting

      What Politifact is commenting on is whether the opinion, belief, or conclusion drawn from those facts is "mostly false".

      In other words, Politifact is NOT a FACT checking organization. They are checking whether or not the opinions presented are "correct". If the facts presented in the story are true, I do not need someone else to tell me if the conclusions the author reaches are true or not. If someone is going to claim to be a fact checker, I want them to limit themselves to checking the facts. If they do not, it is just a matter of time, and probably not much of it, before they are calling fake news true because it reaches the "correct" conclusions (or leads people to do so) even though the facts are completely false.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
  2. Isn't this abuse of a monopoly??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Isn't this google using their almost total dominance of search to control the news industry? If a story happens to be true but doesn't fit with the narrative that google wants to put forth could it get burried?

    It's not just about libertarian or conservative bloggers. What if an advertiser, let's say big agribusiness, doesn't want peta exposes of bad farms to be seen? Could that be labeled "fake news"?

  3. Google is ... by AnthonywC · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Ministry of Truth.