Going forward, regular users of Microsoft's Edge mobile browser for iOS can expect to receive warnings when they visit untrustworthy news sites.
The company's browser is integrating NewsGuard, a green-red rating system founded by journalists Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz that evaluates websites using a set of criteria, including the use of deceptive headlines, fake news history, and financial and ownership transparency.
NewsGuard also provides "Nutrition Label" write-ups of more than 2,000 news and information sites that account for 96 percent of online engagement in the U.S. in English.
NewsGuard has existed for some time as an optional privacy extension for Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge desktop browsers, but Microsoft's decision to integrate it into its mobile browser signals a greater concern for preventing users' exposure to purveyors of false or misleading news or disinformation online.
As an example of NewsGuard's yardstick for untrustworthiness, The Guardian reports the Edge mobile is now warning users that the Daily Mail's website, Mail Online, "generally fails to maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability" and "has been forced to pay damages in numerous high-profile cases." Visitors to Russia's state-sponsored RT News website receive a similar warning.
NewsGuard's Steven Brill told The Guardian it takes full responsibility for its ratings. "They can blame us. And we're happy to be blamed," he said. "Unlike the platforms we're happy to be accountable. We want people to game our system. We are totally transparent. We are not an algorithm."
(Via The Verge.)
Tag: Microsoft Edge
This article, "Microsoft Adds NewsGuard to Edge Browser for iOS to Warn Users of Untrustworthy Sites" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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