Google has updated its fact check Google Search developer document to list out all the current guidelines, both eligibility and technical guidelines. There were guidelines listed there before, but now all the guidelines are in this one document now.
Here are the eligibility guidelines for fact check schema:
- Your site must have several pages marked with ClaimReview structured data.
- You must follow all the structured data guidelines and webmaster guidelines.
- There must not be any mismatch between the structured data and page content (for example, if the structured data indicated that the claim is true, but the content on the page said the claim was false). Instead, make sure that both the content and structured data match (for example, both indicate that the claim is true).
- You must meet the standards for accountability, transparency, readability, and site misrepresentation, as articulated in our Google News General Guidelines.
- You must have a corrections policy or have a mechanism for users to report errors.
- Websites for political entities (such as campaigns, parties, or elected officials) aren't eligible for this feature.
- Your readers can easily identify the claims and checks in the body of the article. Your readers are able to understand what was checked and what conclusions were reached.
- You must clearly attribute the specific claim that you're assessing to a distinct second-party origin, whether it's a website, public statement, social media, or other traceable source.
- Your fact check analysis must be traceable and transparent about sources and methods, with citations and references to primary sources.
And here are the technical guidelines:
- A single page can host multiple ClaimReview elements, each for a separate claim.
- If different reviewers on the page check the same fact, you can include a separate ClaimReview element for each reviewer's analysis. For more information, visit Posting multiple fact checks on a page.
- The page hosting the ClaimReview element must have at least a brief summary of the fact check and the evaluation, if not the full text.
- You should host a specific ClaimReview on only one page on your site. Do not repeat the same fact check on multiple pages, unless they are variations of the same page (for example, you can post the same ClaimReview on the mobile and desktop versions of a page).
- If your website aggregates fact-check articles, ensure that all articles match the above criteria and that you provide an open and publicly available list of all fact-check websites you aggregate.
What was updated on this page? These specific guidelines were added:
- You must have a corrections policy or have a mechanism for users to report errors.
- Websites for political entities (such as campaigns, parties, or elected officials) aren't eligible for this feature.
- You must clearly attribute the specific claim that you're assessing to a distinct second-party origin, whether it's a website, public statement, social media, or other traceable source.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
