"It could be a new way of manipulating news, a dangerous way. Google included in the list of fact-checkers all those media that are already not objective. If those media decide what fake news is and what isn't, it's obvious that they will never say their own news is fake news. So it makes this function not very trustworthy," Dewinter said.
He added that the new tool was unlikely to help readers distinguish between fake news and objective information since it was mostly the question of political views and interpretation.
"Fake news or not fake news — I think it's up to individual consumers to decide on the basis of all the information he has. It is not up to Google or any news agency to decide. Also because it is always the question of interpretation, of political context," Dewinter said.
According to the tech giant, the feature was first introduced for Google News in the United States and the United Kingdom in October 2016. It is aimed to help combat the spread of misinformation and fake news.
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