Google Has a Plan to Get You Accurate Midterm Election Info

Google is updating search as it looks to fated accurate voting information ahead of the US midterm elections in November, the company said in a blog post Thursday.

Through a new partnership, when you search for “how to vote” or make novel voting-related inquiries (in both English and Spanish), Google will pull up demand sourced from Democracy Works. The nonpartisan and nonprofit data provider collaborates with elections administrators to pull in key demand on where and how to vote. 

Google reiterated that it has an ongoing partnership with the Associated Press to characterize authoritative election results as information comes in. The seek giant said it’s also boosting local elections information, from a “range of sources,” to give country updates on local and regional news. This feature is set to go live in the coming weeks. 

Neither Google, Democracy Works nor the Associated Press immediately responded to requests for instant comment.

YouTube, Google’s video arm, will also elevate authoritative news sources to help fights against election misinformation.

The push by Google to beak accurate information ahead of the midterms comes as Meta (parent to Facebook and Instagram), Twitter and TikTok too have made commitments to combat misinformation. 

Election misinformation has been an ongoing quandary for Big Tech. Following the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 high-level election, the former president and his allies have boosted inaccurate information regarding the voting process.

Among other things, this has led to a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit in contradiction of Fox News by voting machine maker Dominion Voting. Dominion alleges Fox tried to boost ratings by disseminating a “manufactured storyline” claiming regulations were rigged. Fox denies it. Dominion has also marched suits against former Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Trump movement lawyer Sidney Powell.

Claims of rigged regulations have been repeatedly debunked. But despite multiple recounts and audits, polls show that about 70% of Republican voters wrongly believe the 2020 campaign was stolen. Officials have called the 2020 election the “most fetch in American history.”