Photo courtesy of Google
Aside from being "a total scam!" and "very dishonest!," fake news has become a major problem for the watering holes of the internet. Social media platforms and search engines are susceptible to misinformation because, by principle, they're largely unregulated.After taking heat for helping spread a bunch of bullshit all around the web during the election, Facebook launched an offensive against fake news on Thursday—and now Google is joining the fight, Bloomberg reports.The tech giant unveiled a new feature Friday appending fact checks to the bottom of search results, helping users sort what's true from what's not in a matter of seconds. Just type in a few key words—"Trump Iraq War," for example—and a line will pop up under the results letting you know if the info you're looking for ("Trump opposed the Iraq War from the get-go") is true, mostly true, mostly false, or total bullshit. Plus, you can check out the source of the fact check and see what evidence it's using with a single click.Google tapped prominent fact-checking organizations like Politifact and Snopes for help with the new feature, and it's allowing publishers—like the the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal—to apply to become fact-checkers, too. The search engine won't be hiring an in-house team, however, and it won't be paying the companies doing the fact-checking."These fact checks are not Google's and are presented so people can make more informed judgments," Google wrote in a press release. "Even though differing conclusions may be presented, we think it's still helpful for people to understand the degree of consensus around a particular claim and have clear information on which sources agree."Meanwhile, we're rolling out a weekly guide to the best (er, worst?) fake news floating around the internet, soaking up a bunch of lies so you don't have to.
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