Google uses a lot of techniques in order to prevent and maintain misinformation on its platforms. But you may not realize that this also applies to Google Maps. While there aren’t a lot of areas where misinformation can emerge, it makes use of public contributions with reviews, photos, videos, and ratings of all your favorite and not-so-favourite places. Such contributions are essential to the platform, giving users new ways to explore places they haven’t. Visit them beforehand and get a better idea of what to expect.
Unfortunately, there seem to be some bad players appearing, and Google has gone to great lengths to eradicate this type of behavior. In a new post, the company shared its efforts, removing more than 300 million posts, including comments, photos, and videos, from the platform in 2022. Specifically, it removed more than 115 million comments, more than 200 million photos, and seven million videos. . Moreover, it has managed to protect more than 185,000 businesses from suspicious activities, and prevent 20 million fake business profiles from appearing on the platform.
As for how Google does this all, the company cites its use of machine learning, focusing on two areas, which allowed it to “detect abuse patterns faster,” and to “remove fraudulent images” from the platform. As you can imagine, this is a huge win when it comes to users and business owners, giving everyone a safer way to experience Google Maps. Although we never see these types of protections activated during day to day use, Google is constantly working hard in the background to improve its platform.
In addition to protecting its users, Google states that it has taken legal action against bad actors, specifically filing a lawsuit that led to the demise of a telemarketing group that was posing as Google. The company has also shared its strategies with government agencies such as the FTC and other organizations around the world, in order to resolve these types of issues as a group and possibly faster.
source: Google
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