For a while now, we know that Google, along with other sites (like Facebook) have been having issues concerning fake news and problematic content. This has been going on since November, where Google has been plagued with disturbing content, fake news and offensive search suggestions appearing at the top of its results. In response, “Project Owl” is being launched by Google, which is an effort by the company to address these issues. These three specific actions were announced today.
In particular, Google is launching:
- a new feedback form for search suggestions, plus formal policies about why suggestions might be removed.
- a new feedback form for “Featured Snippets” answers.
- a new emphasis on authoritative content to improve search quality.
An article was written by Danny Sullivan that talks about how Google hopes to improve their search results by providing better authoritative content, as well as enlisting feedback about suggested searches and Featured Snippets answers.