Fact checking search results

• US 9,454,563 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2015
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Myslinski, Lucas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Baker, Charlotte M
• Application Number:
  US14/804,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20150339356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• Field of Search: 704/9, 707/1, 707/102, 707/100, 715/505, 709/204
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/828 Managing virtual sport teams
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3065 Monitoring arrangements determined by the means or processing involved in reporting the monitored data error or fault reporting or logging G06F11/0766
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90328 using search space presentation or visualization, e.g. category or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0279 Fundraising management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 : by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00

Abstract

A fact checking system is able to verify the correctness of information and/or characterize information by comparing the information with one or more sources. The fact checking system automatically monitors, processes, fact checks information and indicates a status of the information. Fact checking results are able to be validated by re-fact checking the fact check results.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining search results corresponding to a query;

performing a fact check of the search results by comparing each search result from among the search results to respective information from one or more sources to determine a factual accuracy of said each search result;

generating fact checked search results by adjusting the search results in accordance with the fact check;

causing to be displayed the fact checked search results in response to the query;

wherein generating the fact checked search results comprises changing a ranking of a first search result from among the search results relative to a second search result from among the search results;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ranking of the first search result is decreased relative to the second search result when factual inaccuracy of the first search result is above a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the ranking of the first search result is decreased relative to the second search result when the first search result is more factually inaccurate than the second search result.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the ranking of the first search result is changed based on a combination of a factual accuracy and search relevance of the first search result relative to the second search result.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the combination of the factual accuracy and the search relevance of the first search result is based on a particular weight assigned to each of the factual accuracy and the search relevance.

6. A computerized method, comprising:

receiving one or more search criteria that was specified by a user;

in response to receiving the one or more search criteria, causing a search engine to generate search results corresponding to a query that is based on the one or more search criteria;

performing a fact check of the search results by comparing each search result from among the search results to respective information from one or more sources to determine a factual accuracy of said each search result;

generating fact checked search results by adjusting the search results in accordance with the fact check;

causing, to be displayed, the fact checked search results in response to the query;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the fact checked search results comprises, for a particular fact checked search result of the fact checked search results, adding an indicator of the factual accuracy of at least one of the search results that corresponds to the particular fact checked search result.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating the fact checked search results comprises adding an identifier of the one or more sources associated with the factual accuracy of said each search result of the search results.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein adding the indicator comprises adding a first indicator of a factual inaccuracy of a particular search result from among the search results and adding a second indicator of factually accurate information that corrects the factual inaccuracy of the particular search result.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the information from the one or more sources comprises social network information.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining whether the query is identical to a previously-executed query, and wherein, when the query is identical, generating the fact checked search results comprises reordering the search results in accordance with a scheme associated with the previously-executed query.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the scheme comprises a frequency of selection of each search result of the search results or a particular weight given to a factual accuracy of a search result of the search results.

13. A computerized method comprising:

receiving a first search string that comprises at least a portion of a query being inputted;

performing a fact check of the first search string by comparing the first search string to information from one or more sources to determine factual accuracy of the first search string;

obtaining one or more suggestions to replace or augment the first search string based on the factual accuracy of the first search string, the one or more suggestions comprising one or more second search strings that are more factually accurate than the first search string;

causing the one or more suggestions to be displayed;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising detecting a particular keyword or character in the first search string, wherein detecting the particular keyword or character triggers performing the fact check.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the particular keyword or character comprises a question mark or a question.

16. A computerized method comprising:

receiving a first search string that comprises at least a portion of a query being inputted;

determining one or more autofill suggestions based on the first search string, the one or more autofill suggestions comprising a recommendation of another portion of the query to be inputted, wherein the one or more autofill suggestions are ranked relative to each other;

for at least an autofill suggestion having a top rank from among the one or more autofill suggestions, fact checking the autofill suggestion having the top rank for factual accuracy;

in response to determining that the autofill suggestion having the top rank is factually inaccurate, modifying the autofill suggestion having the top rank to be factually accurate;

causing to be displayed, during input of the query, the autofill suggestion having the top rank that has been modified;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

17. A system comprising:

one or more storage devices including data responsive to search queries;

one or more processors in communication with the one or more storage devices, the one or more processors;

receiving one or more search criteria that was specified by a user;

in response to receiving the one or more search criteria, causing a search engine to generate search results from among the data that corresponds to a search query that is based on the one or more search criteria,

performing a fact check of the search results by comparing each search result from among the search results to respective information from one or more sources to determine a factual accuracy of said each search result,

generating fact checked search results by adjusting the search results in accordance with the fact check, and

causing to be displayed the fact checked search results in response to receiving the search query.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors parses each search result of the search results into a respective parsed search result, and performing the fact check of the search results comprises comparing each parsed search result to respective information from the one or more sources to determine a factual accuracy of said each parsed search result.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors generates the fact checked search results by changing a ranking of at least a first search result from among the search results relative to a second search result from among the search results in accordance with a factual accuracy of the first search result and the second search result relative to each other.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the fact checked search results includes the search results and an indicator of the factual accuracy of said each search result of the search results.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the fact checked search results includes the search results, an indicator of the factual accuracy of said each search result of the search results, and an identifier of the one or more sources associated with the factual accuracy determination for said each search result of the search results.