In the past week, Google unveiled their new “Fact Check” feature. This will come in the form of a new label for stories and articles that can be found in a Google News search.

The “Fact Check” tag will be joining the likes of other tags including “In-Depth”, “Opinion”, and “Wikipedia” among others.

“We’re excited to see the growth of the Fact Check community and to shine a light on its efforts to divine fact from fiction”, wrote Richard Gingras, head of Google News. He also added that sites who regularly fact check, and those who only exist to fact check, can apply to be included in search results.

This announcement comes at a convenient time for googlers, as the presidential campaign battle between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton grows more contentious by the day. Frequently, the same give and take would occur between these two during the presidential debates, in which Clinton would accuse Trump of something such as supporting the war in Iraq. Trump would interject and say that Clinton is wrong and has no substance behind her claims, to which Clinton would respond that she does not want to get deep into the details, but that they could be found on her website.

Such an interaction, after occurring many times in each debate, can leave potential voters in a rut, not being able to differentiate fact from fiction. Instead, it has become more of a “he said she said” argument. With the addition of the “Fact Check” feature, all it will take is one google search to know the truth.

“I think it’s a great idea because people need to be well informed, not only to decide who they want to vote for, but for everyday life in general”, West Morris senior Nicholas Caskey answered when asked about the potential the new label has.

Google has used the presidential campaigns as a major selling point for their new label, but have also insisted that it will be incredibly useful for more than just politics, and that it is here to stay for the long run.

Pic Credit: BBC News