Nowadays, it is hard to believe anything on the internet, especially after the arrival of Generative AI. Lots of fake and misleading things often spread like wildfire on the internet. However, Google is trying to remedy the situation by releasing tools people can use to fact-check things like images. To that extent, Google is releasing the About This Image tool globally.
The About This Image tool in Google Search is available globally to all English-speaking users. It provides valuable information about images, including image history, how others use and describe that image, image metadata (when available and added by image creators), and indications if an image is generated or fabricated using Generative AI. Images generated by Google's AI are clearly marked as such and can be viewed with the new tool. You can access this tool by clicking the three-dot menu below an image in Google Search's image results. You can find the ‘About This Image' option in that menu.
Fact Check Explorer is another tool journalists can use to fact-check images online. It uses claim review markup to find information about images from independent organizations worldwide. It offers users an overview of an image and its use over time. Google has also introduced the beta version of Image Search functionality into the FactCheck Claim Search API. Journalists can use it to fact-check images and integrate them into their solutions.
Google is also experimenting with Generative AI to offer descriptions of images on the internet. It provides original sources and information about what high-quality publications have been discussing about the source link. This information appears in the ‘More About This Page' section of the ‘About This Result' option.
