Apple and Google’s Quest to Quench Fake News

When I started out as a tech analyst in 1981, there were no PC analysts. I had come to Creative Strategies, which at that time was the tech arm of a global consulting firm called Business International, to cover mini-computers and sell reports on this technology. But when IBM introduced the IBM PC in 1981, I was asked to switch over and add PCs to my workload. Consequently, I became known as a PC analyst and since PC’s were new and gaining attention, all of a sudden I started getting calls from traditional business reporters to help them make sense of this new PC trend.

In my first 15 years of covering PC’s, I got to know a great many journalists and quality writers who covered the world of business and tech. While their original beats were not tech related, they too were asked to cover the tech revolution. Brilliant writers like John Markoff of the New York Times, Walt Mossberg of the WSJ, and Steven Levy of Newsweek and many others are highly trained journalists who were given the task of eloquently writing about tech and putting into perspective of our national interests and dialog.

During that time I was introduced to the concept of fact-checking and often an editor for one of the reporters who I had spoken to about an article would call me days later to confirm my comments so they would be 100% accurate when published. Although I have been a tech columnist for over 30 years and have written for ABC News, Time Magazine, Fortune, Fast Company, USA Today, PC Mag and many others, I am not a trained writer or journalist. The fact that my columns are readable is due to the great editors who have taken my original writing and made it grammatically correct and enjoyable. I fact check my writing too, but these professional editors double check me as well. As a result of these experiences, I have a great appreciation for quality journalism and factly correct articles.

While I still see excellent writing today from journalists in every field, thanks to the Internet and mediums like Facebook and Twitter, news and commentary are showing up that in many cases are not fact-checked and in a lot of cases are actually “fake news.” Although fake news and propaganda have been around for centuries, it is magnified and spread like wildfire through social media platforms, and it begs for serious policing by social media companies to keep these types of articles and posts from ever seeing the light of day. Facebook and Twitter are working on this, but I am not convinced they can ever keep all of these types of fake articles from their platforms and thus for a lot of people, what they read on social media will be suspect well into the future.

Thankfully, major magazines and newspapers are doubling down on writing accurate, well-written stories. Besides using solid journalistic principles, they are emphasizing the practice of fact-checking. While Facebook and other social media platforms are trying only to post quality, fact-checked articles as much as possible, Apple and Google are tackling this issue in specific aggregated news sites, and both could end up being a model for how AI and human-curated content should be distributed in the future.

Thankfully, major magazines and newspapers are doubling down on writing accurate, well-written stories. Besides using solid journalistic principles, they are emphasizing the practice of fact-checking. While Facebook and other social media platforms are trying only to post quality, fact-checked articles as much as possible, Apple and Google are tackling this issue in specific aggregated news sites, and both could end up being a model for how AI and human-curated content should be distributed in the future.

I was recently shown updated versions of Apple News and Google News and these aggregated sites aim only to post fact-based, quality writing on a spectrum of topics that can be tailored for a person’s specific preferences. Both companies also shared a similar goal and believe that high quality, well written and researched content needs to highlight and, where possible, paid for and rewarded for their quality work.

Apple News got a lot of notoriety lately when they got the exclusive permission to print a section of Sen John McCain’s about to be released a memoir, “The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights and Other Appreciations.” While Apple News has been around for a couple of years, Apple has hired top-notch journalists who were at the New York Times and Washington Post who bring journalistic skills to the management and curation of this aggregated site. This is an important fact and one that distinguishes Apple News from Google News.

In my meeting with Apple and their journalistic leaders who manage Apple News, they emphasized the fact that while Apple News does use algorithms to pick, manage and screen many of the stories they post. They also have dozens of people reading, fact checking and choosing key articles in all categories that stand out and are worthy of reading consideration. They mainly look for well-written articles that are highly accurate in their content and make sure they get highlighted for readers.

Interestingly, these types of special journalistic screenings and highlightings are also done in a product Apple acquired recently called Texture. This site carries 200+ magazines covering all kinds of interest and costs $14.99 per month to get all magazines in the service. Tecture is one of my favorite services as it allows me to read entire issues of 30 magazines of real interest to me from cover-to-cover without having to subscribe to them individually. (Fast Company is one of the publications in Texture.)

They have a section where human editors pick essential stories from dozens of these publications and post these articles in a special area, which allows me to see what their editors view as the most relevant stories to my interests. Apple’s acquisition of Texture is essential and gives Apple a powerful new addition to their overall media offerings. I would not be surprised if Apple News and Texture are merged in the future and offered as an updated and more powerful subscription service that covers a broad spectrum of interests. More importantly it, and Google News will become branded trusted sites that take on the fake news catastrophe of our current digital age.

Google News has been updated too, but their approach is a bit different from Apple in that AI-based algorithms drive all of its content and there is no human curation involved in their articles and story offerings. They have dedicated sections of interest you can have delivered through the Google News aggregated site and app, and it uses your search data and records if you sign in with your Google account to provide the most customized content you would be interested in reading.

What is remarkable about both services is that they are working hard to create trusted content sites that deliver quality journalism that is fact-based to counter the plethora of fake news that is rampant on social networks. Both sites also believe that quality journalism should be compensated for their work. While Google and Apple differ on how this compensation is created for these publications, both want their customers to have quality journalism available to them that is accurate and sets it apart from any sites that have factually incorrect material or outright fake news.

One can hope that social networks like Facebook and Twitter will eventually be able to keep fake news off their platforms. But it is good that consumers now have at least two solid aggregated sources in Google News and Apple News/Texture to turn to and be assured they are getting quality content that includes fact-based material and no fake news allowed.

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Tim Bajarin

Tim Bajarin is the President of Creative Strategies, Inc. He is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts and futurists covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. Mr. Bajarin has been with Creative Strategies since 1981 and has served as a consultant to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry including IBM, Apple, Xerox, Compaq, Dell, AT&T, Microsoft, Polaroid, Lotus, Epson, Toshiba and numerous others.

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