MOUNTAIN VIEW: Google has announced to add a fact-check label to images to curb the spread of misleading information online.
According to the giant, the new labels will be attached to the underlying web pages of photos and videos which appear in a Google search. Google explained how the fact-checking system works with an illustration of a widely circulated set of images that showed falsely sharks were swimming in the streets of Houston after a 2017 hurricane.
“Photos and videos are an incredible way to help people understand what is going on in the world. However, the power of visual media has its pitfalls especially when there are questions surrounding the origin, authenticity, or context of an image,” said Google product manager Harris Cohen.
“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,” he added. The new labels will be based on the ClaimReview database established by independent fact-checkers.
A user now when searching on Google Images, would see a ‘Fact Check’ label under the thumbnail image results.
Cohen said, “When you tap one of these results to view the image in a larger format, you will see a summary of the fact check that appears on the underlying web page,” he added.
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