2022
Update February 15th 2024
The LG team today published an announcement on this called
We heard you! Fact Finder badge criteria updated.
Update February 1st 2024
This is now shown in the Android app. Only two requirements to get the fact finder badges. The requirements to verifying 3, 25, and 100 edits are GONE!
This will solve this long overdue problem. Hooray 🎉
It might take some time before your profile will be updated.
Cheers
Morten
Many Local Guides get frustrated because they are unable to check all the facts needed to reach the next level of the Facts Finder Badge on Google Maps.
The frustrations are caused by the following 3 challenges:
- In June 2021 Google changed the way we can check facts.
- It is difficult to find where we can check the facts.
- Often there are no facts to check.
Before dealing with the 3 challenges let us look at the requirements for the Fact Finder badge.
Update: If you checked facts are not getting counted, please see this reply.
BADGE REQUIREMENTS
This help page explains what contributions are needed to achieve the different Maps badges. Keep in mind there is also a separate set of badges here on Connect. Find them on your Connect profile page, and please don't confuse the two sets of badges.
These are the requirements for the Fact Finder badge on Google Maps:
Notice the wording Verify 3/25/100 edits. In my opinion, it would be more helpful if the terms used were Check 3/25/100 facts. The terms verify edits can be confusing and make Local Guides think of his/hers own Suggested Edits. Check facts means checking edits made by other Maps users.
On your Fact Finder badge page, the wording is better. It says
Facts checked
Verify 3/25/100 edits
Currently, I have checked 5248 facts. This was only possible because I started checking facts before Google changed the way we can check facts in June 2021.
You can find the announcement about these changes here.
THE GOOD OLD WAY!
Below you can see a screenshot from check the facts prior to June 2021.
On this map, we could zoom in and out and search for facts to be checked anywhere. We could select the type of edits we would like to check: Existence, Category, Hours, Phone, etc. When something needed a check there would be an orange marker on the map. This is not shown in the screenshot above, but you see them here).
Within an hour I could easily check 100 facts by zooming out to find more orange markers - even in neighboring countries.
But this interface is now history. Today we can only check a limited number of facts at places preselected by Google based on our searches, location, and more. The 2021 changes actually made it a lot harder to fulfill the Fact Finder requirements.
And when you search Connect for help on how to Check some facts, the information you find will likely no longer be valid. Hence this post.
HOW TO FIND FACTS TO CHECK AFTER 2021
First, please know that it is impossible to check any facts while using Google Maps on a computer. You need to use an app. In fact, you can't even see your Google Maps badges from a computer.
In the official help text, named Check facts about places nearby on Google Maps it is stated that checking facts is only possible while using the Android app, but it has been reported that the feature is now also available to (some) iPhone users.
There are 2 ways to reach Check the facts.
Always, start by tapping Contribute in your Maps app.
You can then scroll down til you see the blue button More ways to contribute.
Or you can scroll further down under Contribute til you see the blue link Contribute now as shown below.
After tapping More ways to contribute or Contribute now you will see this:
At the top, you will see a horizontal row of buttons starting with the buttons named Add photos & videos and Add dishes. These are not the only buttons available to you. Swipe left on the row to see the rest of the buttons located to the right of Add dishes. All the way to the right, you will find the button named Check the fact as shown below.
Tapping Check the facts will take you to a page looking similar to this:
As you can see I have only 2 facts to check. Those are both places that I have recently visited. And both are related to opening hours only.
For the first one, I just tap "Not sure" since I don't want to go through the trouble of looking this up somewhere on an outside source.
The second one I know for sure is correct since my family discussed this very recently. So I tap YES under the question "Are these hours correct?".
Then I get this response:
NOTHING TO CHECK
I was lucky to have 2 facts to check. Often you will find this discouraging message when you reach Check the facts:
This is a challenge to many Local Guides. And there is not much you can do.
But you can make sure your Location History is turned on.
You can check and change your Location History under Activity controls.
It might also help to have Web & App Activity turned on also.
Please think twice before turning your Location History and Web & App Activity on. This can easily compromise privacy. I don't consider getting a badge on Google Maps more valuable than my privacy. But it is up to you.
With your location history turned on, then you need to go visit and do business at some places in real life. Then hopefully some of them will show up under Check the facts. They will not show up if there is nothing that needs verification.
You have now reached the end of this updated tutorial on facts checking.
All the information shared in this post might not make you less frustrated, but you will understand better what is going on.
I would encourage Google to make it easier to find and check some facts or at least remove or ease the requirements to obtain the Fact Finder badge.
Cheers
Morten
@MortenCopenhagen I forgot about the old map-based way of doing this! That was the best since it doesn't take proximity to make a call to the business to verify something. I got most of my facts points/tally from that old way, your screenshot just brought back the memory.
Hi @MortenCopenhagen. Thank you about your tips.
this is my first comment in this LGC forum. Please guide me.
About question "Know this place?", I still get it occasionally when i visit new place.
Like this one below.
But, what comes next is not "check Fact", it is "answer question" instead. Like this images:
After answer some question:
And last: point not count in "check fact"
That's all i know about it.
