chard (+ YMYL/Hoax)

chard rates the content quality of individual pages — calibrated against the judgments of human quality raters that Google trains according to strict guidelines (QRG). A variance score shows how confident the model is in its verdict. chard is especially sharp on YMYL content (Your Money or Your Life — topics with real life consequences such as health, safety, severe weather) and on suspected misinformation.

A machine content classifier working with chardScore and chardVariance. It is trained to judge the way a trained human rater would. Its output feeds into the NSR content vector.

chardScore = content-quality value per document; chardVariance = its dispersion/uncertainty (high variance = an uncertain judgment about the page). [B fields, C meaning of the variance]

Expertise is primary — chard directly measures whether content is factually grounded and correct, the way an expert would assess it. Trust is contained indirectly.

Warnings with real-world consequences — severe weather, health, finance, legal — fall in the YMYL category. People make real decisions based on this content. Such pages must be accurate, current and clearly written. Errors or misleading information can not only harm users but also permanently damage the chard score.