Google Adds ‘Fact Check’ Labels to Image Search

In order to control and fight against misleading information online, Google will be adding fact-check labels to images. To the underlying web pages of photos and videos which appear in a Google search, these new labels will be added, as revealed by Google.

With the help of an illustration of a widely circulated set of images, Google displayed how the fact-check system works. These images falsely showed how sharks were swimming in the streets of Houston after a 2017 hurricane.

Google product manager Harris Cohen said, “Photos and videos are an incredible way to help people understand what´s going on in the world. But the power of visual media has its pitfalls — especially when there are questions surrounding the origin, authenticity, or context of an image.”

Adding, “Starting today, we are surfacing fact check information in Google Images globally to help people navigate these issues and make more informed judgments about what they see on the web.”

These new labels would be basically based on the ClaimReview database which was developed by independent fact-checkers.

Cohen said, “Now, when you search on Google Images, you may see a ´Fact Check´ label under the thumbnail image results.”

Furthermore Cohen said, “When you tap one of these results to view the image in a larger format, you´ll see a summary of the fact check that appears on the underlying web page. These labels may appear both for fact check articles about specific images and for fact check articles that include an image in the story.”

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According to Google, these new labels will not affect the search ranking. As Cohen stated, “Our systems are designed to surface the most relevant, reliable information available, including from sources that provide fact checks.”