Google wants to rank websites based on facts not links

[jakeXT]

The trustworthiness of a web page might help it rise up Google's rankings if the search giant starts to measure quality by facts, not just links

THE internet is stuffed with garbage. Anti-vaccination websites make the front page of Google, and fact-free "news" stories spread like wildfire. Google has devised a fix – rank websites according to their truthfulness.

Google's search engine currently uses the number of incoming links to a web page as a proxy for quality, determining where it appears in search results. So pages that many other sites link to are ranked higher. This system has brought us the search engine as we know it today, but the downside is that websites full of misinformation can rise up the rankings, if enough people link to them.

A Google research team is adapting that model to measure the trustworthiness of a page, rather than its reputation across the web. Instead of counting incoming links, the system – which is not yet live – counts the number of incorrect facts within a page. "A source that has few false facts is considered to be trustworthy," says the team (arxiv.org/abs/1502.03519v1). The score they compute for each page is its Knowledge-Based Trust score.

The software works by tapping into the Knowledge Vault, the vast store of facts that Google has pulled off the internet. Facts the web unanimously agrees on are considered a reasonable proxy for truth. Web pages that contain contradictory information are bumped down the rankings.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530102.600-google-wants-to-rank-websites-based-on-facts-not-links.html

[marym625]

1. interesting!

This will piss off people who pay to be at the top of a search

[jakeXT]

2. I wonder what the result for stuff like Iraq and WMD will be ... currently it's

New York Times Reports WMD Found in Iraq - US News

4 in 10 Americans erroneously believe US found active WMDs

No, Bush was not right about Iraq: How conservatives ...

[marym625]

3. I was thinking the same thing

Especially with the current push to whitewash history. The My Lai massacre never happened, don't you know?

[jakeXT]

5. I doubt lies by omission are counted

"But the extensive website, which has been up for months, largely describes a war of valor and honor that would be unrecognizable to many of the Americans who fought in and against it," the Times reports. "Leading Vietnam historians complain that it focuses on dozens of medal-winning soldiers while giving scant mention to mistakes by generals and the years of violent protests and anguished debate at home."

For example, the site omits mention of the Fulbright hearings in the U.S. Senate, during which Secretary of State John Kerry—then a young Vietnam veteran—asked, “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/10/10/pentagon-accused-whitewashing-history-vietnam-war-era

[marym625]

8. But, if someone is looking up the missing information

And it isn't counted as "truth" because of its omission, wouldn't that count as untruthful?

I was looking for a rec button on your reply. Too bad there isn't one.

[leveymg]

4. Google's been doing this informally for years.

DU for a long time was ranked highly by Google. But, DU was recently Google-bombed by the RW after a post produced some adverse publicity for a tax prep company. The poster was essentially correct but got one detail wrong. Shows what professional PR firms can do to on-line reputation when something like this goes viral.

[jakeXT]

7. I think DU has lost a bit of traffic, I believe that also counts /nt

[leveymg]

9. I think you're right. Could be that it's lost most of its Underground to favor the Circle-D crowd?

Purges are rarely good for creativity or popularity.

[Octafish]

10. That is what happens.

Pretty soon, it's down to a 99-1 noise to signal ratio and mission accomplished, baby.

[ffr]

6. I soooo want to work for Google!

I'd love to help make products like this "mature."

[mrd777]

11. I really wonder how this will turn out

I like the idea, though.