Google Adjusts Search Algorithm to Boost Original Journalism
‘Original and in-depth’ articles to be featured more prominently in results
By Patricia Nilsson
Google has adjusted its search algorithms to promote news articles it considers “significant original reporting”, its latest move to support journalism following years of criticism of its role in the industry’s decline.
The world’s most popular search engine said on Thursday that stories that provided “original and in-depth” information and had required “a high degree of skill, time and effort” would be elevated in results and “may stay in a highly visible position longer”.
Google, like digital rival Facebook, has long faced hostility from parts of the news industry, which accuse it incentivising clickbait, fake news and “churnalism” — hastily rewritten stories without any original reporting. However, calls for changes to its highly lucrative search engine have previously been rebuffed.
The company’s search engine sorts through millions of web pages, videos and news stories added to the internet each day, helping users find relevant snippets of information while gaining data on their behaviour, which has made Google a giant in the $330bn digital advertising market.
