Providing useful and trusted information at the scale that the Internet has reached is enormously complex and an important responsibility. Adding to that complexity, over the last several years we’ve seen organized campaigns use online platforms to deliberately spread false or misleading information.
We have twenty years of experience in these information challenges and it’s what we strive to do better than anyone else. So while we have more work to do, we’ve been working hard to combat this challenge for many years.
Today at the Munich Security Conference, we presented a white paper that gives more detail about our work to tackle the intentional spread of misinformation—across Google Search, Google News, YouTube and our advertising systems. We have a significant effort dedicated to this work throughout the company, based on three foundational pillars:
- Improve our products so they continue to make quality count;
- Counteract malicious actors seeking to spread disinformation;
- Give people context about the information they see.
The white paper also explains how we work beyond our products to support a healthy journalistic ecosystem, partner with civil society and researchers, and stay one step ahead of future risks.
We hope this paper and increased transparency can lead to more dialogue about what we and others can do better on these issues. We’re committed to acting responsibly and thoroughly as we tackle this important challenge.
