If you’ve watched the presidential debates and wished that you could quickly fact check the candidates’ statements, Google can help. Search results will now float candidates’ own words and quotes, right next to information on how to watch and keep up with what they’re saying now.


Google’s tweaking its search results to include some of those useful results as soon as you search for a candidate or a debate. For example, if you search for “Fox News Debate,” you’ll see quotes, photos, and social messages from the candidates in real time, along with trending results from other sites. In a post at the Official Google Blog:

Now people will have a new way to hear directly from candidates themselves, in real-time—right in Google Search results. This experimental feature helps voters make more informed choices, and levels the playing field for candidates to share ideas and positions on issues they may not have had a chance to address during the debate. By publishing long-form text, photos and videos throughout the debate, campaigns can now give extended responses, answer questions they didn’t get a chance to on stage, and rebut their opponents.


In email, a Google rep explained that you’ll be able to read additional information from candidates based on their statements, including freshly published posts and photos that give them a chance to elaborate on a point they didn’t have time to talk about, but also read prior statements and posts they’ve made on trending topics. Google will also highlight trending issues, social rankings, and more via Google Trends to help you dig into those statements, or a candidate’s stance on an issue you care about.

All in all, it’s a great way to stay informed not just on what political candidates are saying, but also what the conversation around their message looks like.

Update: This piece has been updated to reflect that Google itself will not be providing the fact checking. They won’t be doing third-party verification of candidates’ statements, and they aren’t promising to float information that highlights a candidate’s contradicting statements. The headline and the text have been changed to reflect this.

New Ways to Stay Informed About Presidential Politics | Official Google Blog via The Next Web