Google search results are promoting fake news about the iPhone 8 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 at the top, so don't trust everything you find on the internet.
Searching for "iPhone 8 price" or "Galaxy S8 price" will yield fake news, arranged to seem like legitimate information.
Fake news have been causing some major headaches for technology companies such as Facebook and Google and some algorithm tweaking seem to be a must. While it's impossible to rid the web of all fake news, at least the top results and the most visible stories should be quality ones.
Fake News Keep Spreading
Facebook could use curated articles to deal with fake news, while Google pledged to ban fake news from its advertising network and keep working on cleaning up its search results.
Google already made efforts to fact-check news to avoid user misinformation, but it still promoted fake news stories at the top of its search results and history repeats itself.
iPhone 8, Galaxy S8 Fake News
In the latest round of fake news stories found on Google Search, the top results when searching for pricing information for the iPhone 8 or the Samsung Galaxy S8 yield results that look legitimate and convincing, presented in a specially formatted table displayed above all other search results.
The sites not only display prices for the handsets, but also core specifications and release date. Displaying these as the top search results on Google could convince users that the information is accurate and fact-based, but the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 8 are not even official yet. The smartphones are expected to debut next year and while various details have leaked, neither Apple nor Samsung have made any confirmation.
Instead, the "Galaxy S8 price" and "iPhone 8 price" top search results displayed are just bogus tables based on leaked specifications, guesswork and expectations. However, they're promoted as facts instead of rumors or leaks.
The fake news about the Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8 are far from an isolated incident. Just the other day, Google also promoted fake news about aliens and the Loch Ness monster at the top of its search results.
Most Americans Believe Fake News
A recent study revealed that most students fall for fake news they find online, but it's not just students who get caught in the trap. As it turns out, a whopping 75 percent of Americans who read fake news believed the information was accurate. This means that most Americans are duped by fake news, which continue to be prominently displayed in search results.
