Tech giant Google intends to empower users by offering greater autonomy over their news feeds.
Google has recently introduced a new feature called "Preferred Sources" for English-language searches in the U.S. and India. This feature allows users to customize their news feed by selecting their favourite news outlets to appear more prominently when searching news topics.
The feature operates by displaying a star icon next to the Top Stories section when a user searches for a topic. Users can click on this icon, choose their preferred sources from a list of algorithmically filtered outlets, and then refresh results. The selected sources will then show up more often in Top Stories or in a dedicated "From your sources" section on the search results page. Users can select multiple sources and update their choices at any time.
Publishers can actively encourage readers to choose them via links on social media or websites, creating new audience development opportunities. Google's "Preferred Sources" is now open to everyone in the launch countries.
The real impact of this change to Google's search system will depend more on how users choose to use it rather than the technology itself. The impact will depend on how readers choose to use it, highlighting the ongoing struggle between personalization and diversity of information.
Over half of users participating in Google's early test phase selected at least four sources, indicating a trend towards curating a diverse news ecosystem. Google maintains that Top Stories will continue showing a mix of sources alongside preferred ones, suggesting an attempt to balance personalization with diversity.
However, the potential downside of personalization with Google's "Preferred Sources" is the potential for limiting one's view by giving more of what one already agrees with and blocking out diverse voices. This could lead to the creation of echo chambers where users only get exposure to like-minded perspectives.
Competitors such as Brave and Microsoft Edge have not yet implemented a feature like "Preferred Sources" within the search box. Brave takes it a step further by letting users boost trusted sites in their ranking system, while Microsoft Edge allows users to curate their news feed by picking topics and blocking unwanted sources.
In essence, Google's "Preferred Sources" feature is a tool for personalization that could improve user satisfaction and trust but might also challenge the breadth of news variety if users only pick like-minded or dominant publishers. Google appears aware of this balance by both enabling user choice and retaining a base level of mixed news sources in Top Stories.
[1] Google Search Central - Preferred Sources for Top Stories (https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawl/preferred-sources) [2] Poynter Institute - Google's 'Preferred Sources' for Top Stories: What it means for news and journalism (https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/google-preferred-sources-for-top-stories-what-it-means-for-news-and-journalism/) [3] The Verge - Google is testing a feature that lets you choose your preferred news sources (https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/19/22242667/google-preferred-news-sources-top-stories-feature-test) [4] Wired - Google's New Feature Lets You Choose Your News Sources (https://www.wired.com/story/google-news-preferred-sources-feature/) [5] TechCrunch - Google launches 'Preferred Sources' for Top Stories in the US and India (https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/19/google-launches-preferred-sources-for-top-stories-in-the-us-and-india/)
The "Preferred Sources" feature introduced by Google for English-language searches showcases the integration of technology in curating personalized news feeds, allowing users to select their favorite news outlets. This personalization may contribute to the creation of echo chambers, as users might only get exposed to like-minded perspectives, thereby limiting diversity in information.
