Facebook, Google, Twitter to Use ‘Trust Indicators’ to Combat ‘Fake News’

Facebook, Google, and Twitter are planning to use “trust indicators” on news articles posted to their platforms in an effort to combat “fake news.”

“These new indicators will appear as symbols in online journalism — attesting how a story was reported, by whom and their credentials, and a media property’s standards — and as pieces of online code to deliver improved search and news results,” reported USA Today.

According to the report, “Facebook will add Trust Indicators to its information ‘button’ giving users context about articles in their news feed,” while “Google plans to look at ways to use the indicators,” which could appear next to articles on Google News, Google Search, and other Google services.

“We believe that helping people access this important contextual information can help them evaluate if articles are from a publisher they trust, and if the story itself is credible,” declared Facebook Product Manager Andrew Anker on Thursday.

Google’s Vice President of News Products also added that they “believe the indicators can help our algorithms better understand authoritative journalism – and help us to better surface it to consumers.”

Leading Silicon Valley companies have previously attempted to combat “fake news,” with Facebook rolling out a “related articles” section below popular stories and those deemed to be “fake news.”

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.