Google to roll out fact check feature internationally, brings it to Search

In order to combat “fake news,” Google has been working with fact-checking groups to add links to their posts in Google News’ story clusters. This was initially rolled out to the US and UK markets. Now, the search giant is bringing this to a wider audience. It’s going to be available globally and aside from it showing up on Google News, it’ll show up on the Google Search results pages as well.

As seen in the screencap above, Google will show you links to the fact check sites along with additional information about the claim. It, of course, doesn’t always mean one group is right and the other isn’t. Because not everything is black and white. But it is a good thing to help form opinions about things by seeing all the possible sides. As Google explains in its post making the announcement: “Even though differing conclusions may be presented, we think it’s still helpful for people to understand the degree of consensus around a particular claim and have clear information on which sources agree. As we make fact checks more visible in Search results, we believe people will have an easier time reviewing and assessing these fact checks, and making their own informed opinions.”

Source: TechCrunch

Android users can search for Google Drive files in Search

It’ll now be easier for Android users to look for Google Drive files on their mobile devices. All you need to do is type the file in the Search bar, head over to the ‘In Apps’ tab, and the files should show up there.  There is no word if the feature is coming to iOS or the web but we should hear about it if it does land there. We’re hoping Google updates it without the need of heading over to the In Apps tab.

Source: The Next Web

Google adds offline search capabilities to its Android app

Searching for anything and everything on Google is a great, convenient thing—until you lose internet connection. Google remedies this issue by adding offline search to its Search app on Android. It’s starting to roll out to users and it might already be on your device. What offline search offers is it’ll start queuing things you search for when your connection gets spotty. When you get back online, Google will run the search in the background and notify you about search results when they’re ready. To know if you already have this feature, you should see a “Manage searches” option in the slide-out menu. There you will be able to see any pending searches you may have.

Source: Android Police

Google adds user’s TV and movie ratings to Search

If you use Google Search on a desktop browser and you input a particular movie or TV show, Google seems to have integrated users’s ratings into the mix. It’s not showing up for us yet but as Android Police reports it seems to be showing up for some users on the web browser version (it doesn’t seem to be up on mobile either at the moment). Now, there’s thumbs up and thumbs down icon (which can reflect your own verdict) that shows up before the IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings. You can also see a cumulative rating from Google users about the particular show or movie. We’re kind of hoping Google incentivizes users to “like” or “dislike” movies and TV shows so the system can suggest things you might want to watch.