When search results are rapidly altering around a breaking news, Google will now notify users. Some searches will now display a warning that “it appears that these results are changing quickly,” with a subheading that “if this topic is new, it may take time for trustworthy sources to contribute results.” In a blog post, the firm advises visitors to return later when it has uncovered additional findings. In a blog post, the firm advises visitors to return later when it has uncovered additional findings. 

The notification will first show on English-language results from the United States “when an issue is fast emerging, and a variety of sources hasn’t yet weighed in.” In the following months, Google will expand the tool’s availability to other areas. 

“While Google Search will always offer the most useful results we can,” the firm notes, “sometimes the trustworthy information you’re looking for isn’t online yet.” “This is especially true in the case of breaking news or developing issues, when the initial information released may not be the most reliable.” Following up on a tweet from Stanford Internet Observatory researcher Renee DiResta, Recode reported on the feature yesterday. 

The term “ufo videotaped travelling 106 mph” appears in a Google search screenshot, which appears to be a reference to a recent tabloid report concerning a 2016 UFO incident in Wales. (At the moment, that specific search result does not carry the warning.) “Someone had a video of a police report published in Wales, and it garnered some news attention. But there’s still not a lot of information out there,” Google public liaison Danny Sullivan told Recode. “However, we can tell it’s starting to trend because people are definitely looking for it and may be posting about it on social media. We can also see that there isn’t a lot of particularly good material available. We also believe that fresh material will become available.” 

Apart from that amusing example, Google has accidentally highlighted false information following mass shootings, when early government accounts are frequently erroneous and purposeful disinformation is widespread.  

(Data gaps, or terms with limited search results that can be readily hijacked by unscrupulous actors, can aggravate this.) This warning isn’t guaranteed to prevent harmful information from appearing, and it’s unclear how Google judges what constitutes a wide range of sources. However, it has the potential to eliminate some of the illusory legitimacy that early, inaccurate search results may gain from high Google placement.