Google is preparing for a wave of misinformation surrounding the US midterm elections by elevating trustworthy information and displaying it more prominently across services including search and YouTube, the company said Thursday.
As part of the effort, Google plans to launch a new tool in the coming weeks that highlights local and regional journalism about campaigns and races, the company said in a blog post. Searches for "how to vote," in both English and Spanish, will soon return highlighted information sourced from state election officials, including important dates and deadlines based on users' location as well as instructions on acceptable ways to cast a ballot.
Meanwhile, YouTube said it will highlight mainstream news sources and show labels beneath videos in English and Spanish that provide accurate election information. YouTube said it is also working to prevent "harmful election misinformation" from being recommended to viewers algorithmically.
The announcement marks the latest attempt by a Big Tech platform to convince the public it is ready for a high-stakes electoral battle that could dramatically reshape the congressional agenda, including coming legislative battles over how the US regulates the platforms themselves.
It comes as many of the underlying issues stemming from the 2020 presidential election, including baseless allegations of voter fraud and false claims about the election's outcome, remain unresolved, fueled in some cases by the very candidates...
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