Google launches information panel to tackle Coronavirus vaccine misinformation

In a bid to curb the spread of misinformation around coronavirus vaccines, Google recently announced that it is rolling out a new information panel in Search. In a blog post, the search engine said that the UK will be the first country to get the feature because it has already started releasing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID in the country. Google promised that it will introduce the new features in other countries too, as and when they start to approve vaccines. 

Karen DeSalvo, who is the Chief Health Officer of Google Health, said, “Beginning in the United Kingdom, we’re launching a new feature on Search so when people look up information for COVID-19 vaccines, we will surface a list of authorized vaccines in their location, as well as information panels on each individual vaccine. As other health authorities begin authorizing vaccines, we’ll introduce this new feature in more countries”. 

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According to the blog post, once the feature is made visible to more countries, users will be able to see information panels at the top of google.com searches for COVID-19 vaccines. Further, the search giant will also display authoritative information in the search results, and link the main source. The information panels will show the users the overview of the vaccine and links to Local and National resources. 

This is not the first time that Google has taken such initiative as back in March, it had launched similar information panels on its music platform, YouTube. Google revealed that the information was viewed 400 million times. The panels are visible on the YouTube Homepage, search results and even on some of the videos. 

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Google’s ‘COVID Vaccine Media Hub’ 

The blog post read that the updates to the panels will connect people directly to vaccine information from global and local health authorities. It further added that because YouTube creates are a trusted voice within their communities, Google is also supporting creators by connecting them with leading health experts to make helpful and engaging content for their audiences about COVID-19 and vaccines. The company also asserted that the Google News Initiative is providing an additional $1.5 million to fund the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine Media Hub and support new fact-checking research. 

The media hub will be a resource for providing around-the-clock access to scientific expertise and research updates. “The initiative includes science media centres and public health experts from Latin America, Africa, Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region, with the content being made available in seven languages,” Google said.

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