Google rolls out new "Fact Check" tool worldwide to combat fake news
By Weston Williams, Christian Science Monitor
On Friday, Google implemented a new tool to fight the spread of misinformation on the
web worldwide. The new "Fact Check" program automatically labels dubious stories in users'
search results, and provides links to fact-checking sites like Snopes and Politifact to establish
the veracity of their claims.
The new tool comes as major websites such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter continue
to face pressure to check the spread of "fake news" across the internet, an issue which was
catapulted into the spotlight during the US presidential campaign.
Over the past few years, sites such as Google have had to walk a fine line between
policing false claims and supporting basic principles of free speech online. Google, after all, is
the most popular search engine in the world, sporting more than 77 percent of the global
search engine market share. And for many, that level of influence entails some responsibility to
make sure its many users are not misled.
"Building systems that help people get better at judging information is an important
goal and helping people notice when information might not be credible is an excellent thing to
do – in my work, I call this 'designing for information assess ability,'" says Andrea Forte, an
assistant professor at Drexel University's College of Computing & Informatics in Philadelphia,
Penn. "But depending on corporations to be responsible for educating people about credible
information is not a reasonable solution."
Dr. Forte tells The Christian Science Monitor in an email that relying on ad-revenue
driven companies like Google is, at best, an "incomplete solution." She adds that major
websites depend on one-sided, positive messaging in order to make money, so even programs
like Fact Check will never be an entirely reliable method of eliminating fake news and providing
the user with fair, balanced information.
But it's a start, she adds.
"Google was built to help people find useful information by surfacing the great content
that publishers and sites create," reads a blog post from Google explaining the new feature.
"This access to high quality information is what drives people to use the web and for
contributors to continue to engage and invest in it. However, with thousands of new articles
published online every minute of every day, the amount of content confronting people online
can be overwhelming."
The new program was first tested in October, when Google gave publishers in certain
countries the ability to show a Fact Check tag in Google's News section. The feature highlighted
reputable articles that assessed the accuracy of statements by public figures. Now, that feature
has been expanded worldwide, with fact-checking tags appearing in Google's main search
results as well in as the News section.
"For the first time, when you conduct a search on Google that returns an authoritative
result containing fact checks for one or more public claims, you will see that information clearly
on the search results page," reads the Google blog. "The snippet will display information on the
claim, who made the claim, and the fact check of that particular claim."
A network of 115 fact-checking organizations will provide the accuracy assessment for
dubious articles, rather than Google providing the fact-checking service itself. As a result,
Google searches based on the same claim could return different takes on the story's accuracy
or inaccuracy from different fact-checkers. But even with differing takes on a given story's
accuracy, Google hopes that the range of opinions from different sources will give users an idea
of the "degree of consensus" on any dubious claims.
Of course, some fake news readers will likely continue to reject the truth in favor of a
fake news article that seems to support their pre-existing biases. But while Fact Check won't
eliminate the problem of fake news completely, Forte thinks that Google's new tool is an
important step in fighting the proliferation of misinformation on the web.
"Asking companies like Google and Facebook to think about these problems and do what
they can to address them is a start, because designing to help people make good judgments
should be a basic consideration in the design of all information systems," says Forte. "But it
doesn't go far enough. We need both technological and social solutions. Both good design and
education."
1. Which of the following statements accurately represents the relationship between the
article's central ideas?
A. Google is being criticized for the spread of fake news on the internet during the
presidential campaign; because of the criticism, it has agreed to develop a rating system for
different articles that are published on the internet.
B. Google is trying to address the proliferation of fake news while upholding principles of
free speech; in order to do this, it is developing a fact-check feature that helps readers
assess information for themselves.
C. Google is trying to directly curtail the publication of fake news on the internet; because
fact-check sites have proven to be unreliable, the check on free speech is necessary.
D. Google is being applauded for its attempt to address the spread of fake news through
social media; in order to stop fake news, a network of fact-checkers will be available on
Facebook and Twitter.
2. Which paragraph from the article BEST reflects the central idea above?
A. Dr. Forte tells The Christian Science Monitor in an email that relying on ad-revenue
driven companies like Google is, at best, an "incomplete solution." She adds that major
websites depend on one-sided, positive messaging in order to make money, so even
programs like Fact Check will never be an entirely reliable method of eliminating fake
news and providing the user with fair, balanced information.
B. "For the first time, when you conduct a search on Google that returns an authoritative
result containing fact checks for one or more public claims, you will see that information
clearly on the search results page," reads the Google blog. "The snippet will display
information on the claim, who made the claim, and the fact check of that particular
claim."
C. Of course, some fake news readers will likely continue to reject the truth in favor of a
fake news article that seems to support their pre-existing biases. But while Fact Check
won't eliminate the problem of fake news completely, Forte thinks that Google's new
tool is an important step in fighting the proliferation of misinformation on the web.
D. "Asking companies like Google and Facebook to think about these problems and do
what they can to address them is a start, because designing to help people make good
judgments should be a basic consideration in the design of all information systems,"
says Forte. "But it doesn't go far enough. We need both technological and social
solutions. Both good design and education."
3. How does the article develop the idea that fake news has had a significant impact in
recent years?
A. by citing the effect of fake news in the presidential campaign
B. by explaining how many people get their news on social media
C. by showing how many people do not check information online for accuracy
D. by describing how some organizations distort the news
4.
A.
B.
C.
D.
According to the article, each of the following will help combat fake news EXCEPT:
systems to help people learn how to evaluate information
recognition that websites are responsible for content
new programs sponsored by private businesses
options to read additional linked articles
Write: Reflect on the challenges of this text and these questions. How difficult/easy was the
reading? Which questions were most challenging? How did you address any confusions? Etc.
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Ocean world near Saturn top contender for life beyond Earth
By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A tiny, ice-encrusted ocean world orbiting Saturn is now a
hotter-than-ever candidate for potential life.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has detected hydrogen molecules in the geysers shooting off
the moon Enceladus, possibly the result of deep-sea chemical reactions between water and
rock that could spark microbial life, scientists announced Thursday.
NASA and others are quick to point out this latest discovery does not mean there's life
on Enceladus (ehn-SEHL'-uh-duhs), but that there may be conditions favorable for life.
A liquid ocean exists beneath the icy surface of Enceladus, which is barely 300 miles
(500 kilometers) across. Scientists have long known about the plumes of water vapor spewing
from cracks at the moon's south pole, thanks to Cassini. The heavy presence of hydrogen
suggests chemical reactions between the warm water and ocean-floor rock that could support
life.
Cassini uncovered the hydrogen during its final close flyby of Enceladus in 2015, when it
dove deeper than ever through its plumes of vapor and particles. The researchers reported that
the hydrogen, along with carbon dioxide that was also found, could mean that undersea
microbes are producing methane as they do in the bowels of our own oceans and waterways.
"It really represents a capstone finding for the mission," said Cassini's project scientist,
Linda Spilker, noting that the spacecraft has been circling Saturn for more than a decade.
"We now know that Enceladus has almost all of the ingredients that you would need to
support life as we know it on Earth," she said at a NASA news conference.
A press conference viewer, asking questions of the scientists via Twitter, asked if NASA
was talking about bacteria or algae — or giant squids.
"Most of us would be excited with any life," said Mary Voytek, an astrobiology senior
scientist for NASA. "We're going to start with bacteria and, if we get lucky, maybe there's
something that's larger."
The findings were reported Thursday in the journal Science by a team from Southwest
Research Institute in San Antonio.
Launched in 1997 and now finally running low on fuel, Cassini is drawing ever closer to
its demise. The spacecraft will duck through the gap between Saturn and its rings 22 times
before spiraling out of control and vaporizing in the sky above Saturn this September.
Cassini has no instruments that can detect life, so it will be up to future robotic visitors
to seek out possible life on Enceladus, the scientists said.
Europa, an ice-covered moon of Jupiter also believed to have a subsurface ocean, may
have water vapor jets spewing into space as well, similar to Enceladus. The Hubble Space
Telescope has observed what looks to be plumes emanating from Europa. A spacecraft under
development called the Europa Clipper, to launch sometime in the 2020s, could shed more light
on the matter.
Voytek said her money is still on Europa for potential life, versus Enceladus, since
Europa is much older and any potential life there has had more time to emerge.
While questions remain, Thursday's news represents "an important advance in assessing
the habitability of Enceladus," Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Jeffrey Seewald wrote in
a companion article.
"We still have a long way to go in our understanding," said Seewald, who was not
involved in the study. "Future missions to explore oceans beyond Earth will answer many of
these questions."
1. According to the article, each of the following has contributed to scientists'
hypotheses that life could be present on Enceladus EXCEPT:
A. Cassini's detection of undersea microbes on the moon
B. Cassini's discovery of hydrogen and carbon dioxide on the moon
C. Cassini's observation of water vapor jets on the moon
D. Cassini's collection of data that suggests chemical reactions on the moon
2. Which of the following sentences BEST summarizes how the information sent back
from Cassini about Enceladus has affected scientists at NASA?
A. Scientists are uncertain about proceeding with the Europa Clipper because Cassini did
not definitely find life.
B. Scientists are recklessly making predictions about the types of life they will discover,
from bacteria to giant squids.
C. Scientists are cautiously hopeful that they will discover some form of life beyond Earth.
D. Scientists are giddily excited about the potential for discovering various life forms in
outer space.
3. Read the sentence from the fifth paragraph of the article.
Cassini uncovered the hydrogen during its final close flyby of Enceladus in 2015, when it
dove deeper than ever through its plumes of vapor and particles.
Which version of this sentence creates the LEAST dramatic tone by replacing the phrase
"dove deeper than ever"?
A. Cassini uncovered the hydrogen during its final close flyby of Enceladus in 2015, when it
FLEW EVEN CLOSER through its plumes of vapor and particles.
B. Cassini uncovered the hydrogen during its final close flyby of Enceladus in 2015, when it
MANEUVERED ONCE MORE through its plumes of vapor and particles.
C. Cassini uncovered the hydrogen during its final close flyby of Enceladus in 2015, when it
FINALLY MANAGED TO PUSH through its plumes of vapor and particles.
D. Cassini uncovered the hydrogen during its final close flyby of Enceladus in 2015, when it
RISKED IT ALL TO FLY through its plumes of vapor and particles.
4. Read the sentence from the article.
"We now know that Enceladus has almost all of the ingredients that you would need to
support life as we know it on Earth," she said at a NASA news conference.
What does the word "ingredients" convey in the sentence above?
A. the sense that there is an exact recipe required for the existence of life
B. the sense that those with the correct knowledge could create life in space
C. the sense that Enceladus would be a good moon to support life because it has many
resources
D. the sense that the existence of life is determined by a number of factors
Write: Reflect on the challenges of this text and these questions. How difficult/easy was the
reading? Which questions were most challenging? How did you address any confusions? Etc.
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