Google Will Tell You If Search Results Are Fake With A New Feature

Google’s annual I/O event was recently concluded with the company unveiling the Android 12 and many other new updates across their range of products. There was one important new feature that was talked about at the event and it is called “About This Result”.

The spread of fake information has always been a huge problem for technology firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter, and these companies have tried to devise means to curb the spread of fake news and information on their platforms. Twitter, for instance, informs users of fake news by labeling such tweets as “manipulated media”. Facebook also recently launched a feature that would require people to read articles before sharing them with others, and this was done in a bid to drastically reduce the spread of fake news on the platform.

The “About This Result” was one of the features Google unveiled at its just concluded developer event. According to the tech giant, the feature will be integrated into Search, and will inform users about the sources of their search results. Google has announced that it is working with Wikipedia on this, and that users will be able to see the description of sites that results are from and a link to their Wikipedia page. “Based on Wikipedia’s open editing model, which relies on thousands of global volunteers to add content, these descriptions will provide the most up-to-date verified and sourced information available on Wikipedia about the site. If it’s a site you haven’t heard of before, that additional information can give you context or peace of mind, especially if you’re looking for something important, like health or financial information”, the tech company said in a blog post.

Google also mentioned that if a site doesn’t have Wikipedia description, it would alternatively show users additional context that may be available, such as when the site was first indexed.

Google will also show users if their connections are secure and ensure that they stay safe while surfing the internet.

This feature isn’t totally new as it was introduced in February in the U.S. Google plans on rolling out this feature globally before the end of this month and has announced that it will first be available on Android.