How Does Google Empowers Transparent Elections in Pakistan?

News Desk

Islamabad: As the February 8 elections draw near, Google emphasized on Thursday that it considers supporting elections to be a vital aspect of the company’s responsibility to its users and the democratic process.

With Pakistan gearing up for the national election to choose representatives for the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, Google expressed its dedication to collaborating with government bodies, industry partners, and civil society.

The goal is to facilitate the connection of voters with reliable and authoritative information while ensuring the safety of its platforms by preventing abuse.

The company acknowledged the importance of providing valuable and pertinent information to individuals in the lead-up to elections. Emphasizing their commitment to this, they stated, “We ensure easily accessible reliable information through beneficial product features, displaying data sourced from trusted, nonpartisan organizations regarding the process and locations of voting across our various products,” as highlighted by the search engine.

Google Homepage

The company has structured its ranking systems to boost authoritative information, offering users contextual insights across a range of election-related topics. Moreover, the Google homepage will feature links guiding voters to authoritative resources regarding ‘how to vote’ and ‘how to register to vote.’

In relation to election-related news and information, Google’s recommendation system prominently presents content and pertinent context from authoritative sources.

This includes both local and national news outlets, featured prominently on the homepage, within search results, and the “Up Next” panel. The goal is to link individuals to high-quality election news and information.

Google Trends

In aiding both the media and the public in understanding voter priorities for this election, the company introduced a Google Trends page.

This tool is designed to highlight the primary queries, topics, and interests associated with the political parties participating in the elections.

The page also features information on the most searched election-related topics in various regions of the country, encompassing areas like the economy, taxes, and wages, among others.

It’s important to note that while this data doesn’t indicate voting intentions, it does offer distinctive insights into the subjects people are actively searching for.

Google News Initiative

Google conducted a series of workshops aimed at providing journalists with the necessary resources to enhance their news coverage during elections. These sessions included instruction on tools for news verification, digital security, and the utilization of Google Trends.

Farhan Qureshi, Google’s Country Director for Pakistan said: “In the lead-up to the election, we have focused our efforts on supporting Pakistanis who are expected to cast their vote by helping them connect to useful and relevant election-related information online.

We have also invested in the news ecosystem and trained journalists and newsrooms to report authoritative and credible news ahead of the election cycle. Recently, we launched a Google Trends Pakistan General Election page to make it easier for the media to find this data for their stories,” she added.

Safeguarding From Abuse

The company emphasized that safeguarding the integrity of elections involves ensuring the security of its products and services against misuse. Google and YouTube have established longstanding policies to maintain platform safety for all users and all types of content, particularly during elections.

The YouTube Community Guidelines encompass policies addressing hate speech, harassment, incitement to violence, technically manipulated content, and specific types of election misinformation.

The company relies on a combination of machine learning and human reviewers to detect and eliminate content violating these policies. Between July and September 2023, over 8.1 million videos and 10 million channels worldwide were removed for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.

YouTube prioritizes election integrity and works to establish and enforce policies and systems that support the electoral process. In addition to providing authoritative information, the platform ensures the timely removal of content that violates guidelines, employing both machine learning and trained reviewers.

Google, with its mission to make information globally accessible and useful, remains committed to connecting voters with authoritative and beneficial information online.