Google to launch anti-misinformation campaign ahead of EU elections
16/02/2024 24:01
By Martin Coulter
LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Google GOOGL.O is preparing
to launch an anti-misinformation campaign across five countries
in the European Union (EU), the company told Reuters ahead of
the bloc's parliamentary elections and tougher new rules
tackling online content.
In June, EU citizens will elect a new European Parliament to
pass policies and laws in the region and lawmakers fear the
spread of misinformation online could sway voters.
France, Poland and Germany accused Russia on Monday of
putting together an elaborate network of websites to spread
pro-Russian propaganda.
Europe's Digital Services Act, which comes into force this
week, will require very large online platforms and search
engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public
security.
From March, Google's internal Jigsaw unit which operates to
tackle threats to societies, will run a series of animated ads
across platforms such as TikTok and YouTube in five EU
countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland.
Building on previous campaigns the company has tested in
Germany and central Europe, Jigsaw said the new project was an
opportunity to reach citizens in countries with some of the
largest number of voters in the EU, utilising the company's
local expertise in these regions.
The ads will feature so-called "prebunking" techniques,
developed in partnership with researchers at the Universities of
Cambridge and Bristol, aimed at helping viewers identify
manipulative content before encountering it.
Viewers watching the ads on YouTube will be asked to fill in
a short multiple-choice questionnaire, designed to gauge what
they have learned about misinformation.
"We've spent so much time having these really polarised
debates. Our democracy is at stake, and the temperature just
keeps getting higher and higher," said Beth Goldberg, head of
research at Jigsaw.
"Prebunking is the only technique, at least that I've seen,
that works equally effectively across the political spectrum,"
Goldberg said.
Other measures to control misinformation like fact checking
can add to polarisation because they come after the information
has already spread, she added.
Last month, an investigation conducted by the EEAS (European
Union External Action Service) uncovered 750 incidents of
misleading information being deliberately spread by foreign
actors, many voicing support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Jigsaw's ads will be translated into all 24 official EU
languages, the company said.
The campaign will run for at least one month, with a view to
extend it based on reach and performance. Results from the
campaign, including survey responses and the number of people
reached, are expected to be published in summer 2024.
(Reporting by Martin Coulter; Editing by Matt Scuffham and
Elaine Hardcastle)
((martin.coulter@thomsonreuters.com; Follow me on Twitter
@martinjbcoulter; +447436546182;))