Google’s Chrome has a built-in security feature which when you visit a potentially dangerous website, it will bring up a warning message that tries to keep you away from the website (unless you really insist on it). Microsoft’s Edge browser has a similar feature too, but it works for websites that it deems might be home to fake news.A report from The Guardian has revealed that the Edge browser is now warning users when they try to visit the Daily Mail’s website. It will show up a warning message where it reads, “Proceed with caution: this website generally fails to maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability”.
This feature of Edge is maintained by a group of news industry veterans who are trying to establish a certain benchmark when it comes to news websites that can be trusted, and which can’t. Dubbed NewsGuard, previously this feature was only available as a downloadable plug-in, but now it seems that Microsoft is making the feature available on the mobile version of its Edge browser.
According to NewsGuard co-founder Steve Brill, it seems that he is more than happy to accept any blame if publications find themselves on the list. “They can blame us. And we’re happy to be blamed. Unlike the platforms we’re happy to be accountable. We want people to game our system. We are totally transparent. We are not an algorithm.”