Google doubles down on efforts to combat misinformation ahead of EU elections

LONDON: Google has announced to support the European parliamentary elections by surfacing high-quality information to voters, safeguarding its platforms from abuse and equipping campaigns with the best-in-class security tools and training.

On June 6-9, voters across the 27 member states of the European Union will take to the polls to elect Members of European Parliament (MEPs).

“Across our efforts, we’ll have an increased focus on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and the part it can play in the misinformation landscape — while also leveraging AI models to augment our abuse-fighting efforts,” said Annette Kroeber-Riel, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy for Europe.

In the coming months, when people search for topics like ‘how to vote,’ they will find details about how they can vote — such as ID requirements, registration, voting deadlines, voting abroad and guidance for different means of voting, like in person or via mail

“We’re collaborating with the European Parliament which aggregates information from Electoral Commissions and authorities in the 27 EU member states,” said Google.

All advertisers who wish to run election ads in the EU on Google platforms are required to go through a verification process and have an in-ad disclosure that clearly shows who paid for the ad.

“These ads are published in our Political Ads Transparency Report, where anyone can look up information such as how much was spent and where it was shown. We also limit how advertisers can target election ads,” the company informed.

The company said that to help enforce its policies, AI models are enhancing abuse-fighting efforts.

“With recent advances in our Large Language Models (LLMs), we’re building faster and more adaptable enforcement systems that enable us to remain nimble and take action even more quickly when new threats emerge,” Google said.

Like any emerging technology, AI presents new opportunities as well as challenges. For example, generative AI makes it easier than ever to create new content, but it can also raise questions about trustworthiness of information, like “deepfakes.”

“We have policies across our products and services that address misinformation and disinformation in the context of AI,” Google added.