Google unveils new tools to fight fake news ahead of EU elections

As the EU Parliamentary elections are inching closer, Google has announced a slew of measures and new tools to help users access quality content online and fight misinformation across its platform. The search giant said on Monday that it has collaborated with fact checking organizations to support a healthy news ecosystem online, as well as helping voters get the information they need more broadly.

The company said it will launch Top News and Breaking News feature on YouTube in more countries across Europe to make it easier for the users to find news from verified sources. The feature will highlight videos in the Top News shelf or show the Breaking News shelf on the YouTube homepage for key news events.

Google will also launch publisher transparency labels on YouTube in more European countries in the coming weeks and months. These labels will appear on YouTube videos from channels of news publishers who receive government or public funding.

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"Our goal here is to equip you with more information to help you better understand the sources of news content that you choose to watch on YouTube," the company said in a blog post.

2019 EU election-related news

Google News has launched a dedicated “2019 European elections” topic to provide top journalism on the election topics across the European Union. The company is also working with news partners across Europe to surface Google Trends data and support data-driven stories on the latest topics related to the election. It is also bringing two tools to help fact checkers work more efficiently and effectively and offering four verification training events to help journalists debunk misinformation and share their findings.

"We’re also supporting the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to launch FactCheckEU, a collaborative effort with 19 European fact-checking outlets to tackle disinformation and hoaxes, Google said. By partnering with trusted fact-checking organizations, these new tools can help voters get and stay informed, better understand the political advertising they see and scrutinize and understand rival claims throughout the elections," Google said.