Google updates its Search Engine to fight against Misinformation
Recently, Google announced a set of improvements to its search engine, aiming to improve the quality and reliability of its results. As the company itself details, the most relevant change is the advances in the highlighted sections, which offer a summary of the most important information for the user’s request.
Now, the function will be supported by the Multitask Unified Mode (MUM), an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to identify the idea of consensus between different sources of information. In practice, the novelty will investigate whether the relevant pages on the topic have data with a higher level of agreement with each other and will use the evaluation to improve the results offered to the user and their respective position in the address list.
Similarly, Google also reduced the display of featured snippets on results pages for unanswered questions by 40%. To better illustrate an example, the company suggests the search scenario: “when Snoopy murdered Abraham Lincoln”. In this context, the highlighted snippets would display the date and information about Lincoln’s assassination, an inappropriate return to the user’s desire.’
Combating misinformation
To improve the validation of information in its search engine, Google has updated a number of other features. The “About this result” function, for example, received support for Portuguese and seven other languages, in addition to greater context for the data presented. Much like this, there’s the debut of the “About this page” function, which allows you to quickly investigate more information about a site.
In another context, seeking to prevent the spread of false information about events still in progress, Google implemented notices on related result pages. Now, if the search engine is not “satisfied” with the quality of the answers offered, it will suggest that the user try to search again in the future.
Finally, Google also announced that it is developing an information literacy curriculum for teachers through a partnership with MediaWise of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. It is worth mentioning that the company has already invested at least US$ 75 million in projects to reinforce media education and fight disinformation.
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