Google has launched an ad campaign in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic that is meant to educate the viewers about how to avoid being manipulated by the misinformation spreading about how Ukrainian refugees fled Russia's invasion.
Google's Latest Ad Campaign
According to Bloomberg, the ad is 90-seconds long and is expected to help stop the spread of misinformation about the current political climate in Ukraine.
The search giant decided to launch the ad campaign after European Union watchdogs warned that Russian-affiliated sites and social media accounts promote fake pro-Kremlin narratives six months into the war.
Even though the EU banned Russian state media like RT in their respective countries, the EU still ordered internet giants like Facebook and Google to police their platforms more strictly for fake news, misinformation, and hate speech against Ukrainian refugees.
According to BBC, more than 5.6 million Ukrainian refugees have flooded Europe since the war began. Many countries have welcomed their host nations, but the surging inflation and economic concerns have made the refugees victim of resentment from locals.
Beth Goldberg, the head of research at Jigsaw, said that Google's program would help researchers understand how effective the ad campaign is at inoculating viewers against propaganda.
According to Financial Express, Russia relies on state-run media and accounts on digital platforms like TikTok and YouTube to put out conspiracy theories.
Joseph Bodnar, an analyst at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, said that Russia wants to chip away at European unity against the invasion of Ukraine, which has led to EU sanctions that have affected Russia's economy and made it more difficult for Russians to travel.
Bodnar added that Russia's efforts to spread fake news and misinformation are designed to undermine the EU's global standing, reduce the public support for Ukraine and cause political disruption within the EU.
How Google Fights Misinformation
According to Social Media Today, Google has evolved its efforts to detect misinformation online and limit the reach of false reports in partnership with its fact-checking partners.
Google has ramped up its efforts to address misinformation with Search updates and alerts to help users understand the sources they're connecting with for news.
Google also brought more tools to the platform. The search giant added new notices on evolving news stories, alerting you if the facts are still being clarified.
The search giant also added a new "Highly Cited" label to help users find the source information for major news stories.
This feature will point you to the major publication that released the original story before other news sites picked it up.
Aside from these upgrades, Google also suggests that users familiarize themselves with its latest Fact Check Explorer tool, which enables you to search for any topic you have questions about, and cross-references over 150,000 facts check to provide more context.
You can also cross-check the history of any website through the Search results page.
Google also highlights its support of a number of fact-checking programs through its Google News Initiative, helping to enhance the expertise available to examine and verify online information.
Related Article: DuckDuckGo to Down-Rank Sites Spreading Russian Disinformation
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Written by Sophie Webster
