In Heated Election Season, Google Spotlights Debunkers With 'Fact Check' Label

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles 

Amid what is arguably one of the most heated and divisive presidential elections in U.S. history, Alphabet Inc.'s Google is adding a new "fact check" label to myth-busting stories that appear in Google News search results.

The tag doesn't apply to every news story where journalists verified their facts, but next to articles that verify or debunk claims. Areas of key concern are "urban legends, politics, health and the media itself," Google said in a blog post.

Google said it has already identified 100 websites dedicated to fact checking, and the goal of the new tag is to "shine a light" on the efforts of such organizations "to divine fact from fiction, wisdom from spin." Among the first are PolitiFact and Full Fact.

Google said that websites and news organizations can also apply to the Google News team to have the tag applied to their fact-checking stories.

In a page outlining the criteria for such organizations, Google says it is looking for groups that are "nonpartisan, with transparent funding and affiliations." To avoid sites that hyperfocus on particular politicians or issues, Google says the fact-checking organization "should examine a range of claims in its topic area, instead of targeting a single person or entity."

Google was recently accused of manipulating search results to favor Hillary Clinton, but it denied the allegation. Facebook also recently caught criticism for left-wing bias in its "Trending Topics" module. The social network revamped the product as a result.

The "fact check" label joins others Google News already uses to identify article types, such as "local," "opinion," "satire," "blog" and "highly cited."

The tag will show up in Google News listings found on Google.com, and the Google News & Weather app found on iOS and Android. The new tag is making its debut in the U.S. and U.K., with more countries coming later.

The new tag is part of a continuing effort at Google to compete as the preferred choice for finding online news stories. For many, Facebook Inc. has become a news destination. Facebook doesn't use tags to identify article types as Google does. But while both are racing to make news stories load quicker, Facebook in particular has had some trouble weeding out clickbait and fake news stories -- something Google News' algorithms are currently better at.

Write to Nathan Olivarez-Giles at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 14, 2016 16:54 ET (20:54 GMT)

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