Google has announced a new addition to tags for categorizing content visible on Google News platform. The “Fast Check” tag does just what it says. On trending stories, readers will be able to find fact checking in large news stories.
Tagged stories also will appear on Google News iOS and Android apps
The feature is currently available on the U.S. and U.K. versions, featuring in the expanded story box as well as in the Google News iOS and Android apps.
The new label follows the “Local Source” tag that was launched earlier this year to highlight local coverage of stories. Other popular labels include Opinion, Highly Cited and In-Depth.
So how does Google determine an article contains fact checks? Firstly, it looks for the schema.org ClaimReview markup. Additionally, it looks for sites that follow the commonly accepted criteria for fact checks.
News publishers who would like to see their stories with the “Fact Check” tag must indicate the same through ClaimReview markup.
All fact-checking articles, Google says must be easily identified in the body of articles, with facts enumerated with a brief on the conclusion. The story must be transparent about sources and methods, with citations and references.
Google also notes that the publisher must be nonpartisan, with transparent funding and affiliations. All claims must be examined and mudslinging of single person or entity must be avoided.
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