By Christiana Hadjipavlis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2022
NEW YORK– On September 28th, Prabhakar Raghavan, the senior vice president of Google, announced that Google Search users will soon be able to access foreign news articles in their preferred language via a new translation feature. The idea was announced at the Search On event held annually by Google and is expected to roll out in early 2023.
Google News product manager, Itamar Snir, and Google Search product manager, Lauren Clark, explained the benefits of this feature in a blog post. “Say you wanted to learn about how people in Mexico were impacted by the more than 7 magnitude earthquake earlier this month. With this feature, you’ll be able to search and see translated headlines for news results from publishers in Mexico, in addition to ones written in your preferred language. You’ll be able to read authoritative reporting from journalists in the country, giving you a unique perspective of what’s happening there.”
In other words, beginning in 2023, Google users will be able to access articles from local publications in other countries using automatic translation technology when searching for news. According to Raghavan, this translation feature will only apply to media in Spanish, French, and German on mobile and desktop devices. However, if the addition is well-received by users, more languages may be added soon.
Teens For Press Freedom Media Relations Director Ifeoma Okwuka commented, “Google’s prospective translation feature marks an essential step towards securing the future of local reporting. In working to tear down language barriers present in news, we increase the public’s accessibility to international perspectives, thus help to facilitate the consumption of diverse news stories. These are tools necessary for nurturing a vast audience of well-informed media consumers.”