A Google research paper, reported here and here, suggests the search engine’s infamously secretive algorithms might be applied to rank websites and information according to truthfulness rather than popularity.

Robot-curated “truth” is a nice idea – and might even work, in some cases. Some facts, simple data, could easily to cross-checked and given a tick of approval. It was 20 C in Melbourne yesterday? Tick.

At what point the algorithm has to give way to human discretion to decide between shades of correct information and misinformation is the challenge.

Watch this space.