The Google Algorithm Update is reportedly planning an algorithm change that targets content that makes unverified or defamatory claims about other people. A New York Times NYT report states that Google plans to modify its algorithm to downgrade sites that post unverified or defamatory claims about other people.

This change is said to be a direct response to recent New York times articles documenting how websites, create a business out of the scandal. Google’s algorithm changes planned for the next few months will prevent these predatory sites from appearing in search results when searching for a person’s name. Additionally, Google has an idea called Known victims which aims to protect slander victims from being targeted multiple times.

• When people report to the company that they have been attacked on sites that charge for posting, google will automatically remove similar content when they search for their names.
• The known victim Also includes individuals whose nude photos have been posted online without their consent, allowing them to request suppression of explicit results for their names.

The Google Algorithm Update Says It Was Unaware of the Recurring Issues:

According to the (NYT) google was unaware of a continuing problem with Slander drug websites in search results until it came to the company’s attention this year. Previously, there were rules that allowed users to request the removal of defamatory pages from search results. Successful removal resulted in a downgrade for sites that publish such content.

However, the company was unaware of issues with ongoing harassment continuing even after the content was removed as required. Pandu Nayak, vice president of google search, confirms this in a blog post in which he says that the NYT has managed to point out the limitations of the search engine. Nayak goes on to state what the algorithm seeks to achieve:

• To help people with exceptional cases of recurring harassment, we are implementing an improvement in our approach to further protect known victims.
• Now, when someone requests removal from a site with aggressive practices, we will automatically apply ranking barriers to prevent content.
• Other similar low-quality sites appear in search results for people’s names. We are also looking to extend these protections further as part of our ongoing work in this area.

The Investigation Never Solved the Problem:

Upcoming changes to the algorithms and the development of a Known victims policy will help solve the problem. Although google admits that this will not be a complete solution. Google trust & safety team leader David Graf, NYT says:

• I doubt it is the correct solution, of course not right away. But I think it really does have a positive and important effect. We cannot monitor the network, but we can become responsible citizens.

Nayak echoes the sentiment of his report, saying, Search is never an unsolvable problem. And there are always new challenges we face as the network and the world change. Google is currently testing algorithm changes, with contractors comparing new and old search results. NYT said his own tests and has already made a list of 47,000 people who scored points.

In some cases, the harmful elements are missing from the first page of the results. In other cases, the content was often absent, except for the results of the recently launched target. The changes appear to be working as intended. Of course, sites that do not specialize in exploiting victims‘ reputations do not worry about algorithm updates.

This project continues, however, the murine SAA reputation management industry. Because Google will continue to introduce hard logos, preventing damage to the reputation. What comes out of people’s names. We will see over time how effective these changes will be.