Google has patented a system that will rank news search results by quality and credibility, instead of simply by date and relevance to keywords. See article “Google searches for quality not quantity” in NewScientist. This recalls questions recently raised by Kim in “is the information any good?…don’t ask Google.”
People have a hard time agreeing on which news is credible, but I’m hesitant to believe that machines and algorithms can do better. I worry that smaller or alternative sources will get unfairly buried in the listings. Perhaps they should try ranking for neutrality…