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chromas [soylentnews.org] writes:

Seeing isn’t always believing: Google starts fact-checking images [washingtonpost.com]

Google said Monday it will start labeling some misleading photos [www.blog.google] in its images search feature with a fact-check label, expanding that function beyond search and videos as misinformation continues to spread rampant online. If a website or news article debunks an image in some way, the company will add a small “fact-check” label to the description of photos in search. A larger preview of the photo will show a short summary of the fact-check and direct users to its source.

[...] Fact-checking from social media and other tech companies has become common in the past three years — Facebook, Twitter and Google all do it to some extent — but it is by no means universal and often relies on news media and other partners to publish a fact-check and make sure the companies see it. It can also be applied unevenly, something that triggers complaints.

[...] The company used the example of an image showing a giant shark swimming along a Houston street. Now a search for the shark image — which was edited to make it seem as though a storm had caused the ocean wildlife to swim alongside cars — will show a small fact-check label next to a photo attached to a PolitiFact article.

Google said it is launching the feature fully this week.

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