Google’s $300 Million Initiative Fights Fake News, Helps Publishers Generate Revenue

Google’s $300 Million Initiative Fights Fake News, Helps Publishers Generate Revenue

by  @lauriesullivan, March 20, 2018

Google's $300 Million Initiative Fights Fake News, Helps Publishers Generate Revenue | DeviceDaily.com

Google on Tuesday unveiled the Google News Initiative in another step to fight fake news and help publishers generate a source of revenue. 

The worldwide movement means Google will partner with news publications to help highlight the most accurate information possible. Launch partners in some of the programs include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Telegraph and the Financial Times.

“Platforms like Search and YouTube depend on a healthy ecosystem of publishers producing great digital content,” Philipp Schindler, chief business officer at Google, wrote in a post. “That’s why it’s so important to us that we help you drive sustainable revenue and businesses.”

Schindler explains that last year Google paid $12.6 billion to partners, driving 10 billion clicks a month to publishers’ websites for free. 

During the next three years, Google will commit $300 million to meet its goals, Schindler wrote.

Some of the platforms to help publishers include insights and partnerships. A News Consumer Insights dashboard running on Google Analytics aims to help news organizations understand and segment their audiences based on a subscriptions strategy. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch managed to increase page views to their subscriber pages by more than 150%, with a month-over-month tripling of new digital subscription purchases.

The program comes as Google and news agencies try to hash out their difference. So Google, along with First Draft, plans to launch Disinfo Lab to fight mis- and disinformation during elections and times of breaking news.

And finally, Google will assist those who read news on the internet to distinguish fact from fiction online by teaming up with the Poynter Institute, Stanford University, and the Local Media Association to launch MediaWise, a U.S. project designed to improve digital information literacy for young consumers.

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

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