Google Announces Measures To Crack Down On Misinformation Ahead Of Presidential Election

TOPLINE

Days after Congress grilled top tech CEOs over antitrust allegations and a broader concern over the amount of power and influence the tech giants wield in the political sphere, Google announced on Friday it would crack down on deception campaigns as social media platforms bolster defenses before November’s presidential election.

KEY FACTS

key background

Google was heavily criticized in a 2019 Senate investigation for its role in spreading misinformation during the 2016 presidential election. A Senate Intelligence Committee report released in October of that year called YouTube, which is owned by Google, “the propaganda vehicle of choice for Russia’s state sponsored news organization.” The report also described how quickly misinformation can spread, noting that just days after the 2016 election, a false news story claiming that Trump had won the popular vote, which he lost by 2.9 million, ranked higher on Google than accurate stories.

surprising fact

While the social media giants are preparing for what will likely be a turbulent election season, they also have to think further ahead to the 78 days between the election and the inauguration. With a high number of voters likely to use mail-in ballots, the results of the election could take days or even weeks to finalize, giving foreign and domestic bad actors a chance to spread disinformation and shape the public perception of the election’s outcome. During a recent hearing by a House Intelligence Committee panel Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) expressed concern that the transition period could result in an information vacuum that could result in disinformation coming from Russia, China, Iran and the White House, and asked executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter how they were preparing for “the most perilous times.”

tangent

In 2019 Trump took aim at Google, claiming that he might have won the popular vote if Google’s search algorithm hadn’t swayed undecided voters toward Hilary Clinton.

further reading

Google announces steps to counter spread of hacked materials before election (Politico)

Twitter adds fact-checking labels to hundreds of tweets despite Trump attacks (The Hill)

Facebook Said to Consider Banning Political Ads (New York Times)

As Tech Giants Face Congress, Here’s What Americans Actually Think Of Big Tech (Forbes)

Social media platforms gird for 78 days of disinformation chaos after Election Day (Roll Call)