Google News, the made-in-Google news aggregator, just got the (partial) first taste of the “Material You” design for its Android app, but apparently the Mountain View home isn’t done with summer renovations. Just today, in fact, on his blog he announced that he had also renewed the look of the desktop version. As the same company stated, Google News’ machine learning algorithms are designed to filter out news that is of interest to the user, giving higher priority to local news and, at least according to Google’s claims, trying to protect against misinformation while preserving freedom of expression. When you land on the new Google News page, you’re greeted with a message letting you know about the change. The new design is also the result of feedback from users around the world (Google News is present in 125 countries and 40 languages) and, as expected, it has now moved local and more important news to the top of the page, making it easier consultation . Plus, the filter now lets you add more locations to the local news section, which shows how the search giant is pushing for this kind of news (or are users asking for it?).
The new Google News desktop is now more flexible, with more customization options for the topics users care about most. All thanks to a new blue button that gives access to “Your subjects” and allows you to select and order them according to your preferences. But it’s not just news, it’s verifiable news. As planned at the start, Google wants to fight misinformation and to do this has expanded the Fact Check section: in addition to the headlines, users will now see the original statement as well as the verified assessment of the facts by independent bodies. This information helps verify the source, check other news on the subject and form a more informed opinion and can also be accessed in Google search by clicking on the three dots next to the search results and then selecting ” About this result”.
Finally, Google discloses some more general news. First, it announces the reopening of Google News in Spain after eight years. You’ll recall that the company shut down due to a Spanish law that required any newspaper to charge Google News a fee for displaying even small snippets of its text. Now they have come to an agreement. Next, Google explains how it helps journalists in their work, through the Google News Initiative, the Global News Equity Fund and the Data-Driven Reporting Project. Finally, more “pop” news, Google News is celebrating its 20th anniversary and for the occasion the search giant is showing how much it has changed during this period.
.