Tech giant Google said on Tuesday that it is working with the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make it easier for voters to find important voting information on Google Search in advance of India’s general election. Additionally, the corporation is enforcing stringent guidelines for running election-related advertising on its platforms and using AI models to combat disinformation.
In addition, the business is supporting the India Election Fact-Checking Collective, a group of news publishers and fact-checkers, in advance of the general election. Together, they will build a shared library that news publishers can utilize to address the problems associated with misinformation on a large scale, as well as assist in the early identification of internet disinformation, including deepfakes.
“With millions of eligible voters in India heading to the polls for the general election in the coming months, Google is committed to supporting the election process by surfacing high-quality information to voters, safeguarding our platforms from abuse, and helping people navigate AI-generated content,” Google wrote on its blog.
According to the firm, YouTube posts a range of election-related information panels throughout election season, covering topics such as candidate information, voting procedures, and voter registration. YouTube’s recommendation algorithm prominently promotes material from reliable sources for election-related news and information on the YouTube homepage, in search results, and in the “Up Next” panel.
YouTube’s news watch page and Top News and Breaking News shelves include top-notch material from reliable news sources at strategic times. The firm said that it would employ a mix of human reviewers and machine learning to detect and delete material that violates its standards in order to combat hate speech, distorted content, and incitement to violence.
“Our AI models are enhancing our abuse-fighting efforts, while a dedicated team of local experts across all major Indian languages is working 24/7 to provide relevant context,” the business said.
Google clarified that it has stringent guidelines and limitations about who is permitted to run election-related advertisements on its networks. The company stated that all advertisers wishing to run election ads on its platforms would need to submit to an identity verification process, have in-ad disclosures that clearly identify the ad’s payer, and provide a pre-certificate issued by the ECI or anyone authorized by the ECI for each election ad they wish to run.
According to the business, it has already begun showing labels for videos made using Dream Screen and other YouTube generative AI technologies.
For questions about the next election, Gemini, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot, will provide reliable answers.