Education
Google's latest 'for context' links may give you a clear picture of big news stories
If you've recently seen a little secondary box below the Google News article that gives you a wide picture of the news, you 're not alone: Google announces that it's introducing a new "for information" tab in Google News, one that connects to a second, wider report on the same topic.
Spotted earlier by Valentin Pletzer on Twitter, the feature seems to have been live on cell phones for some very unique search results:
new feature within the top stories carousel "for context"
— Valentin Pletzer (@VorticonCmdr) July 28, 2020
a second link to the same source (here Forbes and cnet)#google #mobile #serp #news pic.twitter.com/B7KDKSmChz
It's small enough that you could quickly forget what's shifted, but it's the "sense" box in the CNET article. Intriguingly, it connects to another CNET article to offer a larger view; it is likely that this functionality is not meant to divert traffic from certain sites to others, but instead to provide a broader image of the news item. This is often how Facebook's "About This Post" feature mostly operates, and often often links to similar material from the same website. Of course, Google also has "information forums" and "featured samples" outside its news box to encourage users to learn more about all kinds of topics.
Although multiple Verge editors have received a new Google app to function in different time zones, we haven't been able to make it show up for other highly contentious news topics like hydroxychloroquine. This CNET example is probably the only one we've seen so far, but Google confirms that this feature isn't just an experiment; it's certainly going to roll out. "If we find that the author has this kind of relevant material for a timely news item, we'll add it," the representative told The Verge.
After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale internet outlets have intensified their attempts to alert users about disinformation, with clear warning signs, "authoritative meaning" surrounding hoax theories, and even a notification to subscribers that they do not want to post outdated, out-of-date papers.
