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Google made changes to its search algorithm that unintentionally made it vulnerable to the spread of fake news, sources say
Google CEO Sundar Pichai.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
GOOG Alphabet-C
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Google's search algorithm has been changed over the last year to increasingly reward search results based on how likely you are to click on them, multiple sources tell Business Insider.
As a result, fake news now often outranks accurate reports on higher quality websites.
The problem is so acute that Google's autocomplete suggestions now actually predict that you are searching for fake news even when you might not be, as Business Insider noted on December 5.
There is a common misconception that the proliferation of fake news is all Facebook's fault. Although Facebook does have a fake news problem, Google's ranking algorithm does not take cues from social shares, likes, or comments when it is determining which result is the most relevant, search experts tell Business Insider. The changes at Google took place separately, experts say, to the fake news problem occurring on Facebook.
The changes to the algorithm now move links up Google's search results page if Google detects that more people are clicking on them, search experts tell Business Insider.
Source : http://www.businessinsider.com/google-algorithm-change-fake-news-rankbrain-2016-12
Google CEO Sundar Pichai.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
GOOG Alphabet-C
789.29 12.87 (+1.70 %)
Disclaimer More GOOG on Markets Insider »
Google's search algorithm has been changed over the last year to increasingly reward search results based on how likely you are to click on them, multiple sources tell Business Insider.
As a result, fake news now often outranks accurate reports on higher quality websites.
The problem is so acute that Google's autocomplete suggestions now actually predict that you are searching for fake news even when you might not be, as Business Insider noted on December 5.
There is a common misconception that the proliferation of fake news is all Facebook's fault. Although Facebook does have a fake news problem, Google's ranking algorithm does not take cues from social shares, likes, or comments when it is determining which result is the most relevant, search experts tell Business Insider. The changes at Google took place separately, experts say, to the fake news problem occurring on Facebook.
The changes to the algorithm now move links up Google's search results page if Google detects that more people are clicking on them, search experts tell Business Insider.
Source : http://www.businessinsider.com/google-algorithm-change-fake-news-rankbrain-2016-12
