Google announces new ways to verify info in Search: What are they, how will they help users and more
Google is a go-to platform for most people who want to find information quickly and understand complex topics. Google Search offers people to find information from around the world and a variety of diverse sources. However, there may be times when the information available on the internet is not factually correct. In such cases, one needs to fact-check to verify the claim. Google has listed a few ways that allow users to check information before trusting them.
“Everyone should be empowered with the tools they need to find information they can trust. That’s why we build features to help you evaluate the information you come across online while expanding the range of helpful information you can find,” the company said in a blog post.
The search engine giant introduced new features, “Perspectives” and “About this author”, and also expanded some tools, such as “About this result” globally.
Google has introduced new features to its Search engine – “Perspectives” and “About this author” – and also expanded some of its current tools, including “About this result”.
Get insights by ‘Perspectives’
Google said that the “Perspectives” feature will showcase insights from a range of journalists, experts, and other relevant voices on the topic users are searching for.
“This feature will give you a variety of noteworthy voices on a news topic, complementing the trustworthy reporting you already find on Search to help broaden your understanding. This carousel will launch soon in English in the US and will be available on desktop and mobile,” Google said.
Users can find this feature below the Top Stories section. It will be available soon in English in the US and will be available on desktop and mobile.
‘About this author’ for information on source
When you get multiple perspectives on a topic, you may find views of a publication/ author which you may not know. ‘About this author’ feature will provide more information about the authors behind the content that users are reading. Furthermore, this will also help them discover new voices they can trust.
This is essentially an expansion of the “About this result” feature. It is launching on Search results in English globally and on the Perspectives carousel in the US in English, the company said.
Get details by using ‘About this result’
Google also said that it is launching the “About this result” feature globally in all languages where Search is available in the coming days.
“Now, wherever you’re searching, you’ll see three dots next to most results on Google Search. Tapping those three dots gives you a way to learn more about where the information you’re seeing is coming from and how our systems determined it would be useful for your query,” Google said.
In addition, users will now be able to access its “About this page” feature. Users can type in the URL of the organisation in Google Search and information from About this page will populate at the top of Search.
Spot information gaps with advisories
There are times when a query does not return a lot of great information, or the results are changing quickly. To address these information gaps, Google said the Search will automatically show content advisories in situations when a topic is rapidly evolving.
The company said it is expanding the advisories for quality information gaps to new languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese in the coming months.
Google clarifies that these advisories provide context about the whole set of results on the page and it doesn’t deem available information low-quality.
