Fact checking might seem like an irrelevant consideration in the age of Trump, but Google’s having none of it.
The firm announced it will now include a new ‘fact check’ label next to news stories in search results, to indicate that a particular story includes the schema.org ClaimReview markup or is published by a site that follows “commonly accepted criteria” for fact checks.
Google explained the new feature in a post, saying it is designed to “shine a light on efforts to divine fact from fiction, wisdom from spin.”
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It essentially means Google has added a new category to its news story list, with Fact Checking now considered distinct from “In-Depth” or “Opinion”.
In the post, the company states: “You’ll see the tagged articles in the expanded story box on news.google.com and in the Google News & Weather iOS and Android apps, starting with the U.S. and the U.K.”
Sites which have a fact checking service can also apply to be included in search results, and should head over to the support page for tags to learn more.
The fact checking label arrives just in time for the US election in November, and comes after Facebook was criticised for allegedly censoring conservative news stories on its Trending news service.
With the focus squarely on truthful reporting then, Google’s small addition to its label categories will likely be welcomed by many.
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Let us know your thoughts on the new label in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
