With less than a month to go to the contentious Presidential election, tech companies are implementing measures to prevent misinformation from proliferating online. Search leader Google announced recently that it is working to prevent incorrect information on the election outcome from being a part of the search results that it provides.
“As news is developing, the freshest information published to the web isn’t always the most accurate or trustworthy, and people’s need for information can accelerate faster than facts can materialize,” Google said in a blog post on September 10. Preventing misinformation online is particularly important during this election, because of the likely time lag between the end of voting, and the final announcement of which party won the election. There are expected to be more mail in ballots this year than in previous elections, in part because of the novel coronavirus deterring voters from showing up to polls in person.
Google says it is actively testing its Search product to maximize the likelihood that information presented to users is accurate. “Since 2017, we’ve done more than 1 million search quality tests, and we now average more than 1,000 tests per day,” Google says. The company has also given assurances its ad policy will “robustly police against false claims designed to undermine trust and participation.”
The company has also developed an ‘Intelligent Desk’ to stay informed on breaking news and determine fact from fiction. “We’ve improved our systems to automatically recognize breaking news around crisis moments like natural disasters and ensure we’re returning the most authoritative information available,” Google says. “We’ve also made significant strides in our overall ability to accurately identify breaking news moments, and do so more quickly. We’ve improved our detection time from up to 40 minutes just a few years ago, to now within just a few minutes of news breaking.”
According to Google, the Intelligence Desk is a’ global team of analysts monitoring news events 24/7, spanning natural disasters and crises, breaking news moments and the latest developments in ongoing topics like COVID.’ The company says its analysts collect data about how systems are responding and compile reports about narratives that are emerging. “Our product teams use these data sets and reports from the Intelligence Desk to run more robust quality tests and ensure that our systems are working as intended for the wide range of topics people Search for.”
Google is also refining its autocomplete function. The digital tech publication Engadget provides examples of how autocomplete will change. “If you type something like “You can vote by” or “you can’t vote by” into the search box, autocomplete won’t suggest finishing that statement with “phone,”” Engadget states. It further explains that “if you enter “donate to,” political parties or candidates should not show up as suggestions. Of course, just because autocomplete doesn’t finish your query with a prediction doesn’t mean you can’t type it in yourself. You can still type “You can vote by phone” if you wish, or “donate to party candidate” and get those results.”
Earlier this year, Google announced that it is investing $6.5-million to fund fact-checkers and nonprofits fighting misinformation around the world. The initial focus of the investment is to combat misinformation surrounding COVID-19. One of the nonprofits Google is supporting is First Draft, an online resource hub dedicated to training and crisis simulations for reporters covering COVID-19. To achieve this goal, First Draft utilizes CrossCheck, a digital verification collaboration between newsrooms and technology partners that reports false, misleading and confusing claims that circulate online. CrossCheck was created in 2017 and used in France during its Presidential election. The platform has been refined in the years since.
As the leader of search, Google acknowledges it plays a vital role in people receiving correct information and that that role comes with a responsibility to ensure accuracy. The company noted that this is a year that “access to reliable information is more critical than ever—from COVID-19 to natural disasters to important moments of civic participation around the world.”