Quicksave: The latest from Google Play Pass

Google Play Pass helps you connect with awesome digital content: It’s your pass to hundreds of apps and games without ads and in-app purchases. We wanted to take another moment to spotlight a few of the titles and developers we think you’ll enjoy.

Dive in to the newest games and apps

With this most recent batch of new additions, we’re happy to share that Play Pass now offers access to 800+ games and apps. We’ve added some great, award-winning titles this past month, like:

Football Manager 2021
Make your mark on the beautiful game.

PRICE:$8.99 Free with Google Play Pass subscription

Feel the buzz as you effortlessly craft the perfect squad and tactical setup that’s guaranteed to pick up silverware, wherever and whenever you want. We love the new tactical templates which make finding your perfect style of play, and world domination, easier than ever. 

Dead Cells (coming this week)
Kill. Die. Learn. Repeat.

PRICE:$8.99 Free with Google Play Pass subscription

Play as a failed alchemic experiment and explore the sprawling, ever-changing castle to find out what happened on this gloomy island…! That is, assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers. If you love ripping monsters to shreds, you’ve come to the right place.

Sago Mini School 
The revolutionary curiosity-led curriculum for little learners.

PRICE: Free [No in-app purchases with your Play Pass subscription]

Developed with education and play experts, your child will build math, literacy, science and spatial skills as they discover fun learning games and kid-tested topics. With super fun activities like doodles, tracing, and mazes, you might catch yourself playing without your little ones.

Flockers
Do ewe have what it takes?

PRICE:$1.99 Free with Google Play Pass subscription

Save the sheep by guiding them through 60 levels of crushers, giant buzz-saws, deep pits full of spikes and giant swinging meat cleavers. Word to the wary, don’t get too attached to these cuties. They can’t ALL survive.

Explore the titles we ❤️   

Teslagrad
Forge your path through the Tesla Tower.

PRICE:$6.99Free with Google Play Pass subscription

Teslagrad is a 2D puzzle-platformer with action elements where electromagnetic powers are the key to discovering the secrets kept in the long abandoned Tesla Tower. We love, love, love the unique art style and visual storytelling… there’s no text! It’s just you and the game. 

The Gardens Between
Embark on a journey that examines the significance of their friendship.

PRICE:$4.99 Free with Google Play Pass subscription

A single-player adventure where you help two friends manipulate time to solve puzzles to find their path forward. This game is quite the emotional journey, so you might want to find a friend to hug (or elbow bump) after it’s all said and done.

Forgotton Anne
Discover a world you won’t forget.

PRICE: Free [No in-app purchases with your Play Pass subscription]

A seamless cinematic adventure with light puzzle platforming. You play as Anne as she sets out to squash a rebellion that might prevent her from returning to the human world. The hand painted environments (chef’s kiss) help make this adventure an animated masterpiece… and a game you won’t (no pun intended) soon forget.

Star Wars: KOTOR
Determine the destiny of the entire galaxy!

PRICE:$9.99 Free with Google Play Pass subscription

Can you master the awesome power of the Force on your quest to save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side? Kudos to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Aspyr Media, who were featured as Pocket Gamer’s best Play Pass game of the year.

Full list of additions since February 1, 2021:

Premiering on Play Pass:

EVO ISLAND
Fisti-Fluffs
SPHAZE: Sci-fi puzzle game

Role Playing:

Dungeon Village
WitchSpring3
Hero Generations

Education:

English for Kids
Finger Paint Coloring Book
Happy Daycare Stories - School playhouse baby care
Kids Puzzles, Funny Animals #2 (full game)
Mandala Coloring Pages
Sago Mini School
BabyMagica
Coloring Book+
Miffy's World – Bunny Adventures

Strategy:

Sheltered
EVO ISLAND

Action:

Dead Cells
Mental Hospital IV - 3D Creepy & Scary Horror Game
Super Cat Tales 2
Slender Last Sleep

Arcade:

Funky Karts
Orbia: Tap and Relax
Super Oscar Premium

Puzzle:

Flockers
Gunhouse
Hamster Town
Shuttle Shuffle: Aliens Panic
Swapperoo
Faraway: Puzzle Escape
Mystic Pillars: A Story Based Puzzle Game
Pebble Universe
the Sequence [2]
Stranger Cases: A Mystery Escape

Sports:

Football Manager 2021 Mobile

Simulation:

Game Dev Story

Casual:
Mega Mall Story
Strawberry Shortcake Food Fair
Strawberry Shortcake Holiday Hair

Adventure:

White Night

by James Kavanagh via The Keyword

Update on campaign targeting security researchers

In January, the Threat Analysis Group documented a hacking campaign, which we were able to attribute to a North Korean government-backed entity, targeting security researchers. On March 17th, the same actors behind those attacks set up a new website with associated social media profiles for a fake company called “SecuriElite.”

The new website claims the company is an offensive security company located in Turkey that offers pentests, software security assessments and exploits. Like previous websites we’ve seen set up by this actor, this website has a link to their PGP public key at the bottom of the page. In January, targeted researchers reported that the PGP key hosted on the attacker’s blog acted as the lure to visit the site where a browser exploit was waiting to be triggered.

SecuriElite website

The attacker’s latest batch of social media profiles continue the trend of posing as fellow security researchers interested in exploitation and offensive security. On LinkedIn, we identified two accounts impersonating recruiters for antivirus and security companies. We have reported all identified social media profiles to the platforms to allow them to take appropriate action. 

Actor controlled LinkedIn profiles

Actor controlled Twitter profiles

Tweet from SecuriElite announcing new company

At this time, we have not observed the new attacker website serve malicious content, but we have added it to Google Safebrowsing as a precaution.

Following our January blog post, security researchers successfully identified these actors using an Internet Explorer 0-day. Based on their activity, we continue to believe that these actors are dangerous, and likely have more 0-days. We encourage anyone who discovers a Chrome vulnerability to report that activity through the Chrome Vulnerabilities Rewards Program submission process.

Actor controlled sites and accounts

Fake Security Company Website:

• www.securielite[.]com
  

Twitter Profiles:

• https://twitter.com/alexjoe9983
• https://twitter.com/BenH3mmings
• https://twitter.com/chape2002
• https://twitter.com/julia0235
• https://twitter.com/lookworld0821
• https://twitter.com/osm4nd
• https://twitter.com/seb_lazar
• https://twitter.com/securielite

LinkedIn Profiles:

• SecuriElite - https://ift.tt/3m4N9wc
• Carter Edwards, HR Director @ Trend Macro - https://ift.tt/2PIEJP5
• Colton Perry, Security Researcher - https://ift.tt/3wg1pac
• Evely Burton, Technical Recruiter @ Malwarebytes - https://ift.tt/3fra2bT
• Osman Demir, CEO @ SecuriElite - https://ift.tt/31wHZ2C
• Piper Webster, Security Researcher - https://ift.tt/2QVsjnx
• Sebastian Lazarescue, Security Researcher @ SecuriElite - https://ift.tt/3sGuLMr

Email:

• contact@securielite.com
• osman@securielite.com
• submit@securielite.com

Attacker Owned Domains:

• bestwing[.]org
• codebiogblog[.]com
• coldpacific[.]com
• cutesaucepuppy[.]com
• devguardmap[.]org
• hireproplus[.]com
• hotelboard[.]org
• mediterraneanroom[.]org
• redeastbay[.]com
• regclassboard[.]com
• securielite[.]com
• spotchannel02[.]com
• wileprefgurad[.]net

by Adam WeidemannThreat Analysis Group via The Keyword

Google women celebrate being the “first...”

Earlier this month, we celebrated women who achieved historical firsts. From the first woman astronaut to the first woman to climb Mount Everest, in the past year, the world searched for “the first woman” more than ever before. These trailblazers continue to inspire new generations, especially young women and girls striving to achieve their own firsts today. 

Our own workplace is filled with inspiring women who have achieved their own personal “firsts,” too. These accomplishments show how women everywhere are breaking down barriers, finding their passions and changing the world. As Women’s History Month comes to an end, we asked 10 amazing women who work at Google offices all over the world to tell us their stories.   

Breaking down barriers

Maria Medrano
Director, Diversity & Inclusion
San Francisco, California

“My mom had me when she was only 16 and school was not an option for her. Her biggest dream was for me to graduate high school, and it was important to me to do so. I was the first woman in my family to graduate high school, and I didn’t stop there.Eventually, I went on to graduate with a BS, MA and MBA from San Jose State University. Today, I have three degrees and three kids and I help  oversee Google’s diversity efforts.”

Nisha Nair
Industry Manager, Large Customer Sales
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

“I was thefirst in my family to pursue education and career after getting married. In my family, all the women got married soon after they finished University. I had the support of my husband which really helped. I studied hard, managed to finish my Masters with a Distinction and a Dean's Award. And this set the stage for other women in my family to do the same."

Jayanthi Sampathkumar
Engineering Manager
Hyderabad, India

“I’m thefirst woman to run a full marathon wearing a sari. It took place in  Airtel Hyderabad in 2017. I ran 26.2 miles in under five hours. I got into the Guinness  World Records book for that. I  also ran two 50Ks, or ultra marathons,  wearing a sari, the best one completing in under six hours. I continue to run all events in a sari in order to inspire the women in the local community to take up an active lifestyle and to feel confident wearing  saris on a regular basis.”

Neeta Tolani
Internal Communications Manager
Southeast Asia, Singapore

“I was thefirst woman to start working in my Hindu joint family (or extended family) of 48 members who still largely live together. My mother always encouraged me to think beyond the ‘usual’ courses that a girl is ‘supposed to take’ in school. I joined a computer course in school instead of picking a needlework class, for example. I went on to do a few more programming courses after college. Today, I’ve been at Google for 11 years!”

Karen Yamaguchi Ogawa 
Benefits Specialist
Sao Paulo, Brazil

"I am the first woman (with a disability) in my family to complete postgraduate studies, work in a multinational company, travel abroad alone and have financial independence."

Finding their passions

Angelica McKinley
Art Director, Doodles 
San Francisco, California

“I was thefirst news design internat a national newspaperand it changed the trajectory of my career. It exposed me to a variety of creative roles that brought together my love for art, history, film, fashion and current events. Today, my curiosity and passion for visual storytelling has led me to the Doodle team where I craft uplifting and inclusive stories about interesting subjects with diverse artists from all around the world.”

Catherine Hsiao
Product Manager, Stadia
Mountain View, California

“I was the first female lead on all things VOD (Video on Demand) at my previous company. I was part of the team that built the first VOD upload business and all the features surrounding it, and I was the only product manager. Today, I’m a lead product manager for Stadia, which I’ve worked on since before its launch.

Changing the world

Bushra Amiwala
Sales Associate, Large Customer Sales
Chicago, Illinois

“I was the first Muslim woman to be elected to my office at age 21 — and I still hold the title of youngest Muslim elected official in the United States.I first ran for office at the age of 19, and lost. With the support of the person I ran against, I was encouraged to try again and was elected in April 2019. This taught me how to nurture and cultivate relationships, which I carry with me in my role at Google as a Large Customer Sales Associate.”

Naomi Ventour
Administrative Business Partner
London, United Kingdom

“I was the first to help introduce a Black History curriculum into my children’s school. I am also the first woman of color called to join the Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) board. AFE is a rare but life threatening birth complication that took my sister’s life nearly seven years ago, shortly after the birth of her second child. I recently took part in the documentary ‘The Black Maternity Scandal: Dispatches’ to highlight both AFE and the shocking statistic that Black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than their white counterparts."

Ana Ramalho
Copyright Counsel
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

“I was thefirst woman to create a pro bono legal servicefor independent artists in the Netherlands.Today, I try to practice helpfulness by engaging as much as possible in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues at Google.”

Learn more about our “First Woman” campaign and apply for roles at Google by visiting https://careers.google.com. 

by Jennifer Rodstrom via The Keyword

Spot misinformation online with these tips

The COVID-19 pandemic. Elections around the world. Fact-checkers worldwide have had a busy year. More than 50,000 new fact checks surfaced on Google Search over the past year, with all fact checks receiving more than 2.4 billion impressions in Search in that timeframe. 

A growing body of external research suggests that fact checks can help counter falsehoods. In a new report supported by the Google News Initiative published today, researchers Ethan Porter, Thomas Wood and Yamil Velez found that corrections in the form of fact checks reduce the effects of misinformation on beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Fact-checking isn’t just for the professionals, however. Every day, people seek evidence to confirm or refute a piece of information they’re uncertain about. Over the past 12 months, Google searches for “is it true that...” were higher than “how to make bread,” and that’s saying something given last year’s sourdough craze. 

We're committed to supporting all users as they look for reliable information online, and sharing our insights with other organizations to strengthen fact checking.

With that in mind, and ahead of International Fact Checking Day on April 2, here are five simple tips to help you ask the right questions so you can better spot misinformation online. 

1. Find out more about the source. 

Have you ever stumbled across a surprising story from a website you’ve never heard of? First, see whether the source itself checks out.  After searching for the website, you can tap on its menu icon to learn more about the result (in English in the United States only, for now). 

In this simulated example, you can see how to learn more about a result you find online. In this case you can see our imagined Mars Robot News site doesn’t have accurate information about the planet.

If you click on the result, you can see how the site describes itself on its “About” page, but you may want to get a second opinion. You can do that by asking Google to remove results from the domain itself. The query would look something like this: about youtube -site:youtube.com. Want to refine your search even further? Find more tips on our support page. 

2. Check if an image is being used in the right context.

A picture is worth 1000 words, as the old adage goes. But a picture can also be taken out of context or edited to mislead. You can search with an image by right clicking on a photo and selecting “Search Google for Image.” You can do the same on mobile by touching and holding the image. This will look for the picture to check if it has appeared online before, and in what context, so you can see if it has been altered from its original meaning.

 See how an image is being used in context online. You can search with an image by right clicking on a photo and selecting “Search Google for Image.” This is a simulated example to illustrate how this product works and not the actual experience.

3. Look for news coverage. 

What’s better than one source? Several! See how (and whether) different news outlets have reported on the same event so that you can get the full picture. Switch to news mode or search for a topic in news.google.com. Make sure to click through to “Full Coverage” if the option is available.

Looking for news on if Earth was visited by aliens? In this simulated example you can see how you can click to find Full Coverage on a topic, and see what other news organizations are covering it.  This GIF is a simulated example and is not the full experience of how the product works.

4. Consult the fact-checkers.

Fact-checkers may have addressed that random story your relative sent you in the group chat – or a similar one that will point you in the right direction to find out what really happened. Try searching for the topic in the Fact Check Explorer, which collects more than 100,000 fact checks from reputable publishers around the world.

 In this simulated example see how you can use Fact Check Explorer to find out if an online claim has been fact checked. This is a demonstration of how the product works and not the full experience.

5. Use Google Maps, Earth or Street View to verify the location. 

False stories about events happening in far-off places can spread due to our lack of familiarity with their location. If you want to get a sense of whether a photo is actually from the place it claims to be from, try checking Google Earth or look at the Street View of a location on Google Maps.

Say your friend sends you a story about Bigfoot strolling by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Searching for the Eiffel Tower on Street View will at the very least confirm that the tower doesn’t have a big red cowboy hat at the top (like it does in Paris, Texas). If that part doesn’t check out, the rest of the story might be fishy, too.

In this simulated example, you can see how you can find the differences between the real Eiffel Tower in Paris, France and the one in Paris, Texas. This is just a demonstration and not the full product experience.

We’re committed to helping people spot misinformation online and supporting the fact-checking ecosystem. 

Most recently, we provided $3 million to journalistic efforts fact-checking misinformation about the COVID-19 immunization process, with a concentration on projects that aim to reach audiences underserved by fact-checking. We also launched a GNI University Verification Challenge across Asia to help the verification skills among journalism students. In addition, Google.org helped the nonprofit Full Fact through grant funding and seven full-time pro-bono engineering fellows to boost the number of claims they could detect.

For more tips and best practices, check out the resources put together by the International Fact-Checking Network at factcheckingday.com. And if you’re a journalist, check out the GNI Training Center.

by Alexios MantzarlisGoogle News Lab via The Keyword

Identifica la información falsa en línea con estos consejos

La pandemia de COVID-19. Elecciones alrededor del mundo. Los verificadores de hechos han tenido un año ajetreado. Más de 50.000 verificaciones de hechos aparecieron en la Búsqueda de Google el último año y recibieron aproximadamente 2.400 millones de impresiones en la Búsqueda de Google en dicho tiempo.

Una investigación externa sugiere que las verificaciones de hechos son efectivas para corregir percepciones erróneas. En un nuevo informe publicado hoy y con el apoyo de Google News Initiative, los investigadores Ethan Porter, Thomas Wood y Yamil Velez encontraron que las correcciones en forma de la verificación de hechos eliminan los efectos de la información falsa en torno a las creencias sobre la vacuna para COVID-19.

Sin embargo, la verificación de hechos no es sólo para los profesionales. Todos los días, las personas buscan evidencia para confirmar o refutar un hecho sobre el que tienen dudas. Durante los últimos 12 meses, el número de búsquedas de Google para "es cierto que ..." fue mayor que para "cómo hacer pan", y eso es significativo dada la locura por la masa madre del año pasado. 

Estamos comprometidos en apoyar a todos los usuarios en su búsqueda de información correcta en línea y a compartir nuestros aprendizajes con otras organizaciones para fortalecer la verificación de hechos.

Con eso en mente, y en el marco de la celebración del “Día Internacional de la Verificación de Hechos” que se celebra el 2 de abril, compartimos cinco consejos simples que te ayudarán a realizar las preguntas correctas y detectar información errónea en línea. 

1. Obtén más información sobre la fuente 

¿Alguna vez te has encontrado con una historia sorprendente de un sitio web del que nunca has oído hablar? Primero, revisa si la fuente en sí es correcta. Puedes simplemente buscar el nombre del sitio web, pero si quieres ver sólo lo que otros tienen que decir al respecto, solicita a Google que elimine los resultados del dominio en sí. La consulta se vería así:  -site:youtube.com. ¿Quieres refinar tu búsqueda aún más? Encuentra más consejos en nuestra página de soporte. 

2. Comprueba si una imagen se está utilizando en el contexto correcto

Una imagen habla más que mil palabras, como dice el viejo adagio. Pero una imagen también se puede sacar de contexto o editar para confundir. Puedes buscar con una imagen haciendo clic con el botón derecho en una foto y seleccionando "Buscar imagen en Google". Puedes hacer lo mismo en el móvil tocando y manteniendo presionada la imagen. Esto buscará la imagen para verificar si ha aparecido en línea antes y en qué contexto, para que puedas ver si se ha alterado su significado original.

Observa cómo una imagen está siendo utilizada en contexto en línea. Puedes buscar con una imagen haciendo clic derecho en una fotografía y seleccionar “Buscar en Google una imagen”. Este es un ejemplo simulado para ilustrar cómo funciona este producto y no la experiencia real.  

3. Busca la cobertura de noticias

¿Qué es mejor que una fuente? ¡Varias! Ve cómo (y si acaso) diferentes medios de noticias han informado sobre el mismo evento para que puedas obtener un panorama completo. Cambia al modo de noticias o busca un tema en news.google.com. Asegúrate de hacer clic en "Cobertura total" si la opción está disponible.

¿Buscando noticias para saber si la tierra fue visitada por extraterrestres? En este ejemplo simulado puedes ver cómo puedes hacer clic para encontrar cobertura total sobre un tema, y ver qué están cubriendo otras organizaciones de noticias. Este GIF es un ejemplo simulado y no es la experiencia total de cómo funciona el producto.

4. Consulta a los verificadores de hechos

Los verificadores de hechos pueden haber abordado esa historia aleatoria que tu familiar te envió en el chat grupal, o una similar que te guiará en la dirección correcta para encontrar lo que realmente sucedió. Intenta buscar el tema en el Explorador de verificación de hechos, que recopila más de 100.000 verificaciones de hechos de medios acreditados alrededor del mundo.

 En este ejemplo simulado puedes ver cómo usar el Explorador de verificación de hechos para conocer si una reclamación en línea ha sido verificada. Esta es una demostración de cómo funciona el producto y no la experiencia total.

5. Utiliza Google Earth o Street View para verificar la locación.

Los eventos que suceden en lugares lejanos pueden engañarte o confundirte de manera particularmente fácil. Si la historia que estás leyendo tiene imágenes del evento que te interesa, o cualquier forma de descripción visual, busca ese lugar en Google Earth o en Street View en Google Maps. 

Digamos que tu amigo te envía una historia sobre Bigfoot paseando por la Torre Eiffel en París, Francia. Buscar por “Torre Eiffel” en Street View al menos te confirma que la torre no tiene un sombrero grande rojo de baquero en la punta (como sucede en Paris, Texas). Si esa parte no funciona, el resto de la historia puede ser sospechosa también. 

En este ejemplo simulado, puedes ver cómo encontrar las diferencias entre la Torre Eiffel real en Paris, Francia y la de Paris, Texas. Esto es una demostración y no la experiencia total del producto.

Estamos comprometidos en ayudar a las personas a detectar información errónea en línea y en apoyar el ecosistema de verificación de datos.

Recientemente entregamos  3 millones de dólares a esfuerzos periodísticos enfocados en verificación de datos de información falsa sobre el proceso de inmunización de COVID-19, con un foco especial en proyectos que tienen como objetivo alcanzar audiencias poco representadas. También, Google.org anunció que ha ayudado a la organización sin fines de lucro Full Fact a través de apoyo en fondos y siete ingenieros pro-bono para aumentar el número de reclamaciones que podrían detectar.

Para más consejos y mejores prácticas, visita factcheckingday.com que tiene recursos puestos a disposición por el International Fact-Checking Network. Si usted es periodista, lo invitamos a visitar el Centro de Entrenamiento de GNI.

by Alexios MantzarlisGoogle News Lab via The Keyword

Some first numbers on how News Showcase is working

For the past two decades, we’ve worked closely and collaboratively with the news industry on helping publishers evolve in the digital age. One of the major ways we support journalism is through Google News Showcase, our new product and licensing program that pays news publishers to curate content across Google News and Discover, fueled by our recent $1 billion investment in news. News Showcase also benefits readers by helping them understand complex stories and find the news organizations covering the issues, both locally and nationally, that matter most to them. 

In the past six months, we’ve launched News Showcase in the U.K., Australia, Argentina, Brazil and Germany and signed deals with close to 600 publishers in over a dozen countries; over 90% of the publishers are considered local, regional or community newspapers. Today, we started rolling out News Showcase to users in Italy. 

Now that publishers have been able to use News Showcase for a few months, we wanted to give an update on how it is working for the news organizations currently live on the product. 

First, we’re thrilled by the amount of quality content our publisher partners are providing to readers through News Showcase. News organizations from the Evening Standard and The Financial Times in the U.K. to The Canberra Times, The Illawarra Mercury and The Saturday Paper in Australia, to Infobae, Página12, and El Día in Argentina, Der Spiegel, Stern and Die Zeit in Germany and Folha de S.Paulo and A Crítica in Brazil are producing more than 7,000 panels per week, ensuring there is a wide variety of timely, in-depth stories for readers. 

An example of how different News Showcase story panels will look with some of our publishing partners.

Many of the panels that are currently being created are aimed at helping to inform users at the start or end their day, a choice that publishers are able to make thanks to the flexibility of the product. This variety and flexibility ensures publishers have control over their voice, storytelling and ability to reach readers, a choice that publishers make on their own sites that they can now do inside Google products with News Showcase. In an era of fast-paced news, News Showcase publishers are helping readers by highlighting the news they may have missed and getting them up to speed on the day’s events. 

In Google News, readers can follow a publisher when they want to see more content from them. When that happens, it tells us the product is working: The reader found a publisher they liked enough to want to hear more from every day. Since we launched, users have followed news publishers more than 200,000 times thanks to the features we launched alongside News Showcase. This is a huge increase, and we’re looking forward to seeing these new relationships develop.

We’re constantly looking to improve News Showcase’s contribution to a sustainable news ecosystem, and these early signs are encouraging. Our first news partners recently launched our extended access feature, which pays participating publishers to allow readers to access some of their paywalled content provided through News Showcase. This preview of publishers’ premium content can help users realize the value of being a paying subscriber, and we’re looking forward to users growing and strengthening their relationship with publishers as a result of this new feature. 

"The experience of working together with Google has been surprisingly fluid and enriching,” says Daniel Dessein, President of La Gaceta, a regional newspaper that covers the province of Tucuma in Argentina. “The process of setting up News Showcase was much more agile than we originally thought and we received support from high-level developers who gave us valuable insight and learnings for La Gaceta. Extended access has opened up new, exciting ways for audiences to connect with our content.”

People who deeply understand the value of their favorite publishers’ journalism are much more likely to subscribe, and it’s these users who do the most to help support the creation of great journalism. News Showcase is already delivering value for both users and publishers and we will continue to actively partner and solicit feedback to build on this effort.  

News Showcase is just one of the numerous ways we work with news publishers to help them grow their business, their audience and their skills.  Examples include Subscribe with Google, a product built for and with news publishers to make it easier to turn readers into loyal subscribers, as well as the Google News Initiative, where we provide a wide range of tools, training and grant funding.  Over the years we’ve provided billions of dollars to support quality journalism and remain invested in contributing to a sustainable future for the news industry. 

by Alex CoxNews via The Keyword

How fact checkers and Google.org are fighting misinformation

Misinformation can have dramatic consequences on people’s lives — from finding reliable information on everything from elections to vaccinations — and the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem as accurate information can save lives. To help fight the rise in minsformation, Full Fact, a nonprofit that provides tools and resources to fact checkers, turned to Google.org for help. Today, ahead of International Fact Checking Day, we’re sharing the impact of this work.

Every day, millions of claims, like where to vote and COVID-19 vaccination rates, are made across a multitude of platforms and media. It was becoming increasingly difficult for fact checkers to identify the most important claims to investigate.

We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus and is just as dangerous. Tedros Adhanom
Director General of the World Health Organization

Last year, Google.org provided Full Fact with $2 million and seven Googlers from the Google.org Fellowship, a pro-bono program that matches teams of Googlers with nonprofits for up to six months to work full-time on technical projects. The Fellows helped Full Fact build AI tools to help fact checkers detect claims made by key politicians, then group them by topic and match them with similar claims from across press, social networks and even radio using speech to text technology. Over the past year, Full Fact boosted the amount of claims they could process by 1000x, detecting and clustering over 100,000 claims per day — that’s more than 36.5 million total claims per year!

The AI-powered tools empower fact checkers to be more efficient, so that they can spend more time actually checking and debunking facts rather than identifying which facts to check. Using a machine learning BERT-based model, the technology now works across four languages (English, French, Portuguese and Spanish). And Full Fact’s work has expanded to South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya with their partner Africa Check and Argentina with Chequeado. In total in 2020, Full Fact’s fact checks appeared 237 million times across the internet. 

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can use Google to fact check and spot misinformation, check out some of our tips and tricks. Right now more than ever we need to empower citizens to find reliable authoritative information, and we're excited about the impact that Full Fact and its partners have had in making the internet a safer place for everyone. 

by Sebastien Floodpage via The Keyword

Google News Showcase is launching in Italy

Google News Showcase, our new product experience and licensing program for news, will begin rolling out with local, national and independent publishers in Italy starting today. News Showcase is backed by our recent $1 billion investment in news around the world. Globally, there are now close to 600 news publications in News Showcase in over a dozen countries including Australia, Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the U.K. and Argentina, with discussions underway in a number of other countries. Over 90% of our publication partners are considered local, regional or community newspapers.

In Italy, this experience is powered by a series of licensing agreements covering more than 70 national and local publications from publishers including Caltagirone Editore, Ciaopeople, CityNews, Edinet, il Fatto Quotidiano, Il Foglio, Il Giornale Online, Monrif, RCS Media Group, ilSole24Ore, TMS Edizioni, Varese web. These agreements for News Showcase take into account the rights outlined in Article 15 of the European Copyright Directive for specific online uses of press publications, which do not apply to hyperlinks and very short excerpts.

“We are pleased to have signed this agreement, which governs the issue of related rights and acknowledges the importance of quality news and the prestige of our titles,”says Urbano Cairo, Chairman and CEO of RCS MediaGroup, international multimedia publishing group based in Milan. “A new piece in the partnership with Google that enhances the RCS newspapers and offers a further boost to the growth of our customer base, supporting it with an increasingly broad news coverage.”

“The agreement with Google is a further recognition of the value of quality information such as that of Il Sole 24 Ore,”says Giuseppe Cerbone, CEO of Il Sole 24 Ore, the Italian leading newspaper in business, financial and regulatory information. “The remuneration of information, including the rights related to the distribution of digital content, is a front on which our publishing group is committed at the forefront with the aim of protecting our heritage of high added value content.”

With News Showcase, news organizations can curate their content to help readers get more context about a story and direct them to the full articles on their websites. This drives valuable traffic to publishers’ websites, enabling them to grow their audiences and deepen their relationships with readers. News Showcase panels display an enhanced view of an article or articles, giving participating publishers more ways to bring important news to readers and explain it in their own voice, along with more direct control of presentation and their branding. 

An example of how News Showcase story panels will look with some of our publishing partners in Italy.

News Showcase content from our publisher partners will automatically start to appear in panels in Google News and on Discover starting today. People will see panels from publishers they follow in their personalized feeds, and they might also see panels from publishers they’re less familiar with, presented as suggestions in the Google News “For You” feed and inside “Newsstand,” the discovery area of Google News. 

As part of our licensing agreements with publishers, we're also paying participating publishers to give readers access to a limited amount of paywalled content. This feature gives readers the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s content than they would otherwise have access to, while enabling publishers to encourage readers to become a subscriber.

“The agreement we have reached, also on the subject of neighbouring rights, is important for the authoritativeness and quality of Varesenews editorial project and for the recognition of the value of local journalism,”says Marco Giovannelli, Director of Varesenews, hyperlocal online publisher founded in 1997.

“The Showcase program opens a new season of relationships with Google, because it addresses the issue of rights connected to the distribution of digital content,”says Michela Colamussi, Director of Transition to Digital and Innovation of Gruppo Monrif, publisher of national and regional newspapers. “It allows us to promote the quality journalism of our publications and to accelerate the digital transformation of editorial processes and the development of revenues by subscription.”

“The agreement reached with Google is part of the digital strategies of our publications,” says Azzurra Caltagirone, Vice President of Caltagirone Editore, publisher of national and regional newspapers. “The initiative is an important step that will allow publishing companies to identify new sources of remuneration for quality content while ensuring the independence of a vital sector for contemporary society.”

An example of New Showcase panel layouts from our publishing partners in Italy. 

News Showcase is part of a broader set of initiatives that represent Google’s long-term commitment to supporting journalism. Since 2015, Google has invested 11 million euros in Italian journalism projects through the Innovation Fund of the Digital News Initiative. For example, SESAAB, the Italian publisher of L’Eco di Bergamo newspaper, used artificial intelligence to create personalized newsletters and online content recommendations. In 2016, Google signed a three-year agreement with Italian news association FIEG that led the company to invest over 16 million euros on a number of strategic sectors for digital publishing. And in 2020, with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Google News Initiative offered financial support to over 300 Italian newsrooms through its Global Emergency Fund for Local Journalism. 

News Showcase underlines our larger commitment to journalism. Through the Google News Initiative, which includes $300 million in funding, we’ve supported more than 6,250 news partners in 118 countries. Our ad technologies enable news organizations to sell their ad space to millions of advertisers globally — including advertisers they wouldn’t have access to without these services. Google also sends 24 billion free visits each month to publishers' sites around the world through its platforms, which publishers can monetize with online advertising and subscriptions on their websites and apps.

Our new News Showcase agreements represent an important step forward in how Google is supporting Italian journalism and publishing. We are happy to contribute to the development of the digital ecosystem for the publishing world and to strengthen our commitment to quality journalism.

by Fabio Vaccarono via The Keyword

Say "Hey Google..." to the new Fiat 500 Family

For me, having a car has always been about more than driving. I like the way a car can reflect my style, and make my life easier. That’s why I was personally very intrigued when the Fiat team approached us. They wanted to see if we could work together to make the iconic Fiat 500 respond to people’s needs even better, even when they aren’t behind the wheel. The result of that work is the new Fiat 500 Family Hey Google, a special edition of the historic, yet very modern Fiat 500.

Anyone can ask Google Assistant for useful everyday information, like directions or weather updates. But thanks to the My Fiat Action, which integrates Fiat's Mopar Connect service and Google Assistant, owners of the new 500 Family Hey Google can access special features even when they aren't driving.

If you’re at home but want to check your fuel level, see if your car is locked, find the closest Fiat service station or even switch on the emergency lights, all you have to say is “Hey Google, ask My Fiat…”. Since I share my car with my partner, I know I’d be checking how full the fuel is pretty often! (Some commands aren’t available in the U.K.).

If you’re a new 500, 500X or 500L Hey Google owner, you can activate the service upon car delivery and follow the procedures from Fiat. From that moment on, you can use the My Fiat Action for Google Assistant to interact with your car by simply saying “Hey Google, ask My Fiat…” and the rest is up to you.

• The Fiat 500 outside.

  Helpfulness goes hand in hand with style. For the first time ever, the "Hey Google" badge makes its automotive debut on the 500, 500L and 500X models, with elements inspired by the Google colors on the doors and in the interior.

• A close-up of the driver side door of the Fiat 500 showing the "hey Google" branding.

  Helpfulness goes hand in hand with style. For the first time ever, the "Hey Google" badge makes its automotive debut on the 500, 500L and 500X models, with elements inspired by the Google colors on the doors and in the interior.
  

• A close-up of the Fiat 500's interior seats, showing Google coloring.

  Helpfulness goes hand in hand with style. For the first time ever, the "Hey Google" badge makes its automotive debut on the 500, 500L and 500X models, with elements inspired by the Google colors on the doors and in the interior.

The new Fiat 500 Family Hey Google will soon be available in three models — 500, 500X and 500L —  in 10 European countries, including Italy, the U.K., France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland. Enjoy the ride!

by Vincenzo Riili via The Keyword

A new audio guide for our Augmented Reality Galleries

Since we launched our first Pocket Gallery in 2018, people all over the world have used the augmented reality (AR) feature to explore virtual art galleries ranging from Vermeer to Indian miniatures. With many of us missing the opportunities to explore, we have now collaborated with cultural institutions including the Jean Pigozzi Collection and J. Paul Getty Museum to create three new Pocket Galleries - one of which includes a brand new audio guide feature. Just open the camera tab in the Google Arts & Culture  app to get started.

The virtual exhibition space of Jean Pigozzi’s Pocket Gallery invites you to discover highlights from its African and Japanese collections  featuring 40 of its most important artworks ranging from renowned painter Chéri Samba to emerging new talent. These treasures are frequently lent to museums across the globe, but until now have never had a dedicated building of their own, making this Pocket Gallery a truly unique space.

• Image of an animated AR room with paintings on the wall

  Inside the Pigozzi Pocket Gallery

• Colourful image

  You can learn more about this renowned collection with 19 stories and over 500 high-resolution images. Find out how Ndebele traditions inspired Esther Mahlangu  or dive into the portraits of the world famous Malian photographer Seydou Keïta.

• animated zoom into an image

  We have also collaborated to create a new and improved version of embedded content from Google Arts & Culture, allowing you to explore high resolution highlights of the collection directly on the Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art website.

Continue your journey with a Pocket Gallery presented by the J. Paul Getty Museum, bringing together celebrated works across 200 years of art history. Here you’ll meet cheerful crowds welcoming you to join, whether you’re craving music and merriment, dinner gatherings, or a city stroll. Dive in and experience the joys of dancing with Henri Rousseau, stolen kisses with Jean-Antoine Watteau, and concerts with Gerrit van Honthorst, all from the iconic LA-based collection.

A new way to experience a virtual exhibition space is by using sound and narration -  a feature we are testing first with the guided “Brushes with the World” Pocket Gallery. Here, in each room a narrator will give a short introduction as you follow along on a tour of larger-than-life artworks. Gaze upon immersive landscapes - from Georgia O’Keeffe’s dreamy depiction of Machu Picchu to Hokusai’s majestic vision of Mount Fuji - and take in the city views of  Zaha Hadid’s London or Habeeb Andu’s Lagos. As you approach each masterpiece, you will hear a bespoke soundscape inspired by the locations and objects in the paintings. Some paintings are even accompanied by additional commentary to help you learn more along your voyage. Featuring artworks from 27 cultural partner institutions that depict scenes across 24 countries. This gallery is available now on Android and coming soon on iOS.

10:25

Together, with our partners, we are always experimenting to find new ways to bring people closer to art and culture and we hope these new Pocket Galleries will help you - not just to explore a diverse set of artworks, but also to feel connected to destinations around the world. 

Find the galleries in the Camera Tab of the free Google Arts & Culture app for Android and iOS and jump inside to explore each one from there.

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by Michelle LuoGoogle Arts & Culture via The Keyword

Google's €25 million contribution to media literacy

While navigating the uncertainty and challenges of the last year, it has proven more important than ever for people to access accurate information, and sort facts from fiction. That’s why Google is contributing €25 million to help launch the European Media and Information Fund to strengthen media literacy skills, fight misinformation and support fact checking. Our goal is to ensure that you and your family get the information you want, the answers you need and the accuracy you deserve.

Our five-year commitment will support the work of the European University Institute, the European Digital Media Observatory and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to fund organizations seeking to address key challenges:

• Help adults and young people strengthen their media literacy skills
• Support and scale the critical work of fact-checkers 
• Strengthen the expertise, research and resources to help fight misinformation

As the first to contribute to the European Media and Information Fund, we welcome and encourage other organizations to follow our lead and support this important work. It is clear there is an unmet demand for funding and research, with fewer than one in 10 Europeans having participated in any form of online media literacy training, according to a recent report.  

In the coming weeks, the Fund will open for proposals from academics, nonprofits and publishers based in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Independent committees made up of industry experts will select the winning ideas and Google won't be involved in any decision making related to the Fund. 

Our commitment today builds on our previous grants to fact checkers and nonprofits, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, and our work to tackle misinformation in the run up to other major events, such as elections. Since 2015, we’ve provided funding and technical support to organizations focused on misinformation, including innovative new models like CrossCheck in France, and provided digital verification training to 90,000 European journalists, receiving over 400,000 visits to our training website. 

And we’re of course continuing our other efforts to support media literacy for young people, with Be Internet Legends and Be Internet Citizens providing digital skills to help schoolchildren and teenagers verify and fact-check. Through our philanthropic arm, Google.org, we’ve provided €3.2 million in funding since 2018 to programs like Newswise, The Student View and Weitklick, and through the Google News Initiative additional funding to support Students for President and Zeit für Lehrer.

If you represent an organization with an idea, you can learn more about the Fund and find out when applications open by registering on this website.

by Matt BrittinGoogle Europe, Middle East and Africa via The Keyword