We’ve all heard professors and parents say it dozens of times: “Wikipedia isn’t a good source of information,” or “make sure the information you’re getting is factually correct.” The Internet is full of rumors, unchecked statements and skewed and unreliable data. That may change, though, as Google has produced a research paper with the foreseeable technology to evaluate truth.

Google already has its Knowledge Graph tool that it’s put into use recently. The Knowledge Graph is the easy-to-read bar that comes up whenever you search something that Google already knows to be true and can simply put it instantly in front of you. For example, if you search, “When did the Klondike Gold Rush start?”, you will get a nice box at the top of the search results that says, “August 1896.” This function is available for certain search queries because Google’s database has already established the answer to your questions as a fact by pooling data from various reliable sources like the CIA World Fact Book and other places.

In order to know if a statement is true, you just need to compare it to other sources. Google takes the data it obtains and organizes it into “knowledge triples,” as the Washington Post calls them and uses these to then compare whether statements match up or not.

Currently, through Search Engine Optimization, websites are in control of how high their results appear on a Google search — via paying more or relevance — but with this new technology, Google may alter its results to better reflect accuracy. They are already consulting with Mayo Clinic to clear up untrue medical statements and websites, and it will be interesting to see to what extent Google implements this technology — if at all.

No matter what information you’re looking for on the Web, people almost always say, “Let me Google that for you,” not “Let me Yahoo that for you.” Google is taking that reputation seriously and is taking steps to ensure that the Internet is filled with factually sound information. Again, this is only a research paper, but the future implications of implementing this would be huge. May Google try to control what is and isn’t the truth? It’s highly doubtful, but could make for a cool story.