Google Quality Raters Guidelines Updated With Conspiracy Theories & Non-English Results

Aug 4, 2017 - 7:39 am 0 by

Google Conspiracy Raters Guidelines

Google has updated their quality raters guidelines on July 27, 2017. Previously it was updated on May 11, 2017 with some smaller changes and then the bigger changes on March 14, 2017 with the offensive, upsetting, inaccurate and hateful web pages clarification.

Jennifer Slegg dug deep into the changes.

This new update touches on several points but the big items are conspiracy theory web sites and non-English results and locales.

Conspiracy Theory Content In the Document

Presents  unsubstantiated  conspiracy theories  as  if  the  information  were factual.

The  MC  on  this  page  contains  factually unsupported  theories  related  to  the  Vatican's knowledge  of  the  planet  Nibiru,  the  existence  of aliens,  and  upcoming  world  events.   Although various  Vatican  officials  and  scientists  are quoted  in  the  article,  the  quotations  do  not support  the  article's  claims,  and  in  some  cases do  not  seem  to  come  from  the  person  quoted. The  Nibiru  cataclysm  and  related  events  have also  been  thoroughly  debunked  by  authoritative sources  ( Reference  1 ,  Reference  2 ).   The demonstrably  inaccurate  content  on  this  page can  misinform  users.

Pages that directly contradict well ­established historical facts (e.g., unsubstantiated conspiracy theories), unless the query clearly indicates the user is seeking an alternative viewpoint.

A non­satirical webpage or website presents unsubstantiated conspiracy theories or hoaxes as if the information were factual.

Non-English Sections

However, rating can be more difficult when the query includes English names, words, etc., or when it’s unclear whether English results would be satisfying for a particular query. Please use your judgment and knowledge of your locale to determine the appropriate rating.

Important: Please keep in mind that every locale will have unique considerations regarding the number and variety of languages (such as official languages, regional languages, local dialects, etc.), writing systems, and keyboard input languages commonly in use. While this guideline may not include examples for your locale, it is important that you represent users in your task location and culture in order to interpret the query and rate results. When in doubt, please assume that users would prefer results in the task language unless the query clearly indicates otherwise.

And much more.

Forum discussion at Twitter and WebmasterWorld.

 

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