Google Offers Non-Approved Sources Like Reddit in News Results Search
BANGALORE: Lately, most of us have noticed some new sources popping up in the “news” section of Google results as the company has apparently changed its definition of what sites it considers as “news.”
The latest updated version has a new “In the News” box, which is different from the “News for” box. The latest version is surfacing sources outside of the typical Google News approved sites. Now, Google search news section can reflect varied sources from Reddit discussions to standard blog posts and videos.
In a statement given by spokesperson to Search Engine Land, Google confirmed the policy change. “We will be pulling from all over the web which means that we will present as diverse a range of voices as possible to ensure we get users to the answer they are looking for,” the company said.
“We are always working to give our users the best possible answer to their question. That might come in the form of a video, a press release, a blog, a photo, a social media post or a news article.”
Searches like “Dunkin Donuts” and “website maintenance,” have recently offered up “In the News” results from Reddit and non Google news approved site Yoast.
Though it looks like a good move by Google to offer a broader and diverse option of opinions and sources for News Search, there is still some alteration to be done. A recent search of Transportation Security Administration brought back news results with inappropriate language, courtesy of a new Reddit thread.
The results were also SafeSearch enabled, which could lead to issues with some sites. Other reports opine that even searching directly within Google News section only brings back the usual Google approved news sources.
