The growth in the flow of information that arises from the electoral process in Mexico is a challenge not only for social networks and digital platforms, since they must verify that the information that goes viral is true. When this situation is transferred to the user, the challenge is enormous because many do not know if there are tools to verify the information and they fall into fake news.
For all users who seek to avoid misinformation, there are different tools on Google and YouTube that can be useful:
Reverse search of images : Google Search offers the possibility of consulting an image that circulates on social networks to verify the origin of that photograph through this tool. To do so, you just have to enter Google Images and choose the camera icon: “Search by images.” Drag an image or copy the URL of the photo and the search engine will show a list of pages where the same image has been used before.
Verification of locations in Google Street View and Google Earth : When a photo does not come from a photographic archive or a recognized website but from a social network, it is possible to confirm if the place where users say it was taken really matches reality.
In Google Maps you can search for the geographical area to which the photo supposedly belongs (city, town, nature reserve, etc.). Choose the “Satellite” display in the upper right corner to find geographic conditions similar to the one in the photo (mountains, rivers, streets, etc.). When you delimit the search area, choose the Google Street View and click the “Nearby” or “Nearby” option. Google will throw up a list of locations, with their respective photos, which will help you verify if the original image actually belongs to that place.
In Google Earth download the latest version and write the name of the city, town or landmark of the photo or video and look for clues that will allow you to locate the exact place: a traffic sign, a particular building, a school, a pedestrian bridge, etc. In the “Layers” panel select what type of information you would like to explore, for example “roads” indicates highways and streets with yellow lines. Double click to enlarge points on the map, until you find matches with the image being evaluated.
Verified stories search engine : Google has developed two tools to facilitate the work of verifiers, journalists and researchers, locating verified or corrected information in one place.
Fact Check Explorer: this search bar allows you to enter keywords (Ex: “elections” or “candidate”), as well as complete quotes or quotes. The results list will show related stories that have already been verified and their corresponding corrections.
Markup Tool: if a media or a verifying body wants to correct an error or false information in an article indexed in Google, it can do so easily through this tool. You just have to add the URL of the website where it is hosted, enter the name of your organization and write the data or information you want to correct. Search engines identify these marks to display articles as “verified.”
Digimente: It is a platform for all users, both children, families and teachers developed by Movilizatorio, Teach For All, Enseñá por Argentina, Enseña por Colombia and Enseña por México, with the support of the Google News Initiative, which seeks to train citizens capable of to discern between sources of information, to consume and create quality content and to participate in a responsible and ethical way. It contains a study plan, with modules and lesson plans that seek to train users in different components related to the search, use and generation of online information.
YouTube DataViewer : Amnesty International developed this free tool that allows you to extract data from videos hosted on YouTube in order to help trace their origins; for example, the actual upload date, which may be different than what is listed as public.
YouTube actions: from YouTube, false information is fought through tools that allow the removal of content that violates the policies established for the community. For example, content that incites hatred or that incurs identity theft. The platform prioritizes news and information from trusted sources and reduces questionable video recommendations.
Featured News on YouTube: To help users quickly find news topics, YouTube now displays a dashboard with the most relevant ones, with direct links to the trusted journalistic websites that develop them.
Tool to request content removal: When a user considers that content that appears in Google Search or any other Google platform is illegal, they can enter and create a removal request for violation. Depending on the type of complaint, Google’s expert content moderation teams will receive the case and provide a response.
“ As more organizations dedicated to verification emerge in Latin America such as Latam Chequea. In Mexico, work has been carried out to increase the weight that data verification has in journalism by training and supporting hundreds of Mexican information professionals with tools. Google has collaborated with independent digital media such as Verified in the With Truth initiative ”, Google specified in a statement.
AFP Bot: To verify information, just send a message with the word “hello” to the number +52 55 2503 9334 and choose the desired option in the actions menu. Verification requests can be sent by text, photo, video, audio or link, for the AFP team to review the shared content and the question is answered through the automated profile within the application.
Twitter News: The social network has also sought to highlight the news and videos that come from reliable information sources, so in the discover section you can see the curated content that the platform has and in case there is any news that is is going viral, users can report it.
