Google‘s just stepped up in the fight to take down fake news and otherwise misleading information, partnering up with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to help ensure that the content on Google Search and Google News are in fact, accurate.
The IFCN is a nonpartisan organization run by The Poynter Institute that advocates accuracy in online articles, and they hold an annual fact-checking conference, alongside funding fellowships and training for would-be fake news busters. Google has plans to work with them in a handful of ways to help fix the fake news epidemic, one being to offer free fact-checking tools, expanding their code of principles into new regions and generally increasing the number of verified fact-checkers worldwide.
Google will also be holding workshops, coaching and financial assistance to new fact-checking organizations. To add on to that, the company is going to translate the IFCN’s code of principles into 10 languages and provide training sessions and access to an engineering time bank.
Yes, they want to get rid of fake news THAT badly.
Previously Google has partnered up with sites like Snopes and Politifact to debunk false claims directly in search itself, but Google, Facebook and a variety of other large sites are still battling to stem the tide. Perhaps this new partnership will make Google Search an even safer place from fake news. Stay safe and always fact check before you share!
