Google is tweaking its algorithm to bump up original reporting in its search results

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Whelp, well, it was nice while it lasted. Google is tweaking its search algorithm again, in a way that’s going to annoy everyone except those few media outlets that still have investigative reporters on staff.

See, the powers that be at Google don’t want original news articles to get lost in the buzz they generate. That means the algorithm is getting some new orders to keep “original reporting” at the top of the search results.

Google has re-trained its algorithm to favor original reporting

Okay, so Google isn’t directly giving new orders to the algorithm. Instead, the veritable army of 10,000+ human reviewers that feed the algorithm have new instructions, even if those instructions are open to interpretation.

Even Google doesn’t know how to quantify what makes reporting “original,” which feels a bit like the blind leading the blind. If Google can’t definitely say, how can any of its reviewers?

Anyway, if the change works as intended, here’s the skinny:

• “Significant original reporting” should end up near the top of search results, regardless of how subsequent articles massage their SEO
• Maybe this will cut down on fake news or opinions formed from misreporting, as the source article will be more prominent

Who knows, perhaps this will be a good thing and help save some media outlets from layoffs or closure in today’s complicated post-truth media landscape. Then again, without knowing how Google changed the algorithm, it’s anyone’s guess how it will affect search.

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