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It's even scarier than that. Both Google and Facebook got into politics. Both were caught manipulating results to favor their political allies. Even if you lik

by alecco 10y ago

It's even scarier than that. Both Google and Facebook got into politics. Both were caught manipulating results to favor their political allies. Even if you like the politicians they have today it's still a serious issue. A huge step towards an Orwellian Nightmare.

Angostura 10y ago
As far as I know the Google claims were shown to be false. Have I missed something?
- alecco 10y ago
  A recent one https://sputniknews.com/us/20160912/1045214398/google-clinton-manipulation-election.html https://sputniknews.com/us/20160912/1045214398/google-clinto... NOTE: The site is an organization sponsored by Russia. But the researcher is well respected with a Ph.D. from Harvard. His 2015 paper was published in PNAS and reviewed by very respectful people. This article is a preview of his upcoming paper. Where did you see this proven to be false??? It's sad how critics and whistleblowers have media blackout in USA and only can do it via Russian agencies or Al-Jazeera.
  - namesbc 10y ago
    Well respected? Robert Epstein is the idiot who served malware through his website and when Google displayed a warning about it, Epstein didn't try to fix the problem, he instead went legal and news nuclear claiming Google was trying to censor him.
  - agildehaus 10y ago
    There's absolutely nothing scientific about that article. It's entirely cherry picked examples. I tried similar queries and got completely different results, often negative. And he lacks basic understanding quite often. In one example, Google pulls a Hillary image instead of a Trump (or both) when referencing the 2016 election in a fact card. He doesn't even think that image is simply the first to appear on that page. Heck, I type "next president" into Google right now and I get a fact card with Obama as the image and "5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win" by Michael Moore as the top result.
awqrre 10y ago
Politics also got into Google and Facebook, don't they have to share most of their data with the Government [1]? 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)#Extent_of_the_program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)#E...
namesbc 10y ago
Sigh. Continued belief in debunked conspiracy theories is one of humanities worst traits. The moon landing was real, the earth is not flat, and Google is not manipulating search results.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  Google regularly manipulates search results in their best interests. They even modify their browser to behave differently around sites which they want to discourage or demote. And Google is proud of it. Regularly informing people of how Google will prioritize sites using Google's mobile framework or Google's definition of what's mobile friendly. Or preferring and promoting HTTPS websites, which are more expensive to operate and primarily from users with larger disposable income, over potentially equally valuable voices without. Far outside of content quality and relevance, the only things that should matter, Google regularly manipulates results to reward or punish behavior they want from the entire Internet. When the chairman of Google's board is directly funding a startup with the mission of electing Hillary Clinton, and a Alphabet subsidiary CEO is one of Hillary's former aides, and Google has an incredible shield from prosecution under the current government leadership, I think we can safely assume Google considers it important to it's interests to ensure she's elected. The article often cited isn't really a solid proof of Google manipulating results, but that doesn't mean it's true that they aren't. And of course, with Google's search algorithm one of the most guarded secrets at the company, some of the only code that regular rank and file Googlers aren't allowed to see, even you, a Googler who's failing to disclose your bias here in these comments... can't prove otherwise.
  - namesbc 10y ago
    Are you trying to parody a debunked conspiracy theorist? You are good, but your "isn't really a solid proof of Google manipulating results, but that doesn't mean it's true that they aren't" line that gave you away as a parody account.
    - ocdtrekkie 10y ago
      Hey, this is the realm of easily provable fact. If Google isn't manipulating results: Prove it. It's easy to do, just open source the algorithm. Long as you can't do that, you're not really doing much to advance the conversation. Just being a paid shill for your employer.

by alecco 10y ago

Angostura 10y ago

As far as I know the Google claims were shown to be false. Have I missed something?

alecco 10y ago
A recent one https://sputniknews.com/us/20160912/1045214398/google-clinton-manipulation-election.html https://sputniknews.com/us/20160912/1045214398/google-clinto... NOTE: The site is an organization sponsored by Russia. But the researcher is well respected with a Ph.D. from Harvard. His 2015 paper was published in PNAS and reviewed by very respectful people. This article is a preview of his upcoming paper. Where did you see this proven to be false??? It's sad how critics and whistleblowers have media blackout in USA and only can do it via Russian agencies or Al-Jazeera.
- namesbc 10y ago
  Well respected? Robert Epstein is the idiot who served malware through his website and when Google displayed a warning about it, Epstein didn't try to fix the problem, he instead went legal and news nuclear claiming Google was trying to censor him.
- agildehaus 10y ago
  There's absolutely nothing scientific about that article. It's entirely cherry picked examples. I tried similar queries and got completely different results, often negative. And he lacks basic understanding quite often. In one example, Google pulls a Hillary image instead of a Trump (or both) when referencing the 2016 election in a fact card. He doesn't even think that image is simply the first to appear on that page. Heck, I type "next president" into Google right now and I get a fact card with Obama as the image and "5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win" by Michael Moore as the top result.

awqrre 10y ago

Politics also got into Google and Facebook, don't they have to share most of their data with the Government [1]? 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)#Extent_of_the_program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)#E...

namesbc 10y ago

Sigh. Continued belief in debunked conspiracy theories is one of humanities worst traits. The moon landing was real, the earth is not flat, and Google is not manipulating search results.

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
Google regularly manipulates search results in their best interests. They even modify their browser to behave differently around sites which they want to discourage or demote. And Google is proud of it. Regularly informing people of how Google will prioritize sites using Google's mobile framework or Google's definition of what's mobile friendly. Or preferring and promoting HTTPS websites, which are more expensive to operate and primarily from users with larger disposable income, over potentially equally valuable voices without. Far outside of content quality and relevance, the only things that should matter, Google regularly manipulates results to reward or punish behavior they want from the entire Internet. When the chairman of Google's board is directly funding a startup with the mission of electing Hillary Clinton, and a Alphabet subsidiary CEO is one of Hillary's former aides, and Google has an incredible shield from prosecution under the current government leadership, I think we can safely assume Google considers it important to it's interests to ensure she's elected. The article often cited isn't really a solid proof of Google manipulating results, but that doesn't mean it's true that they aren't. And of course, with Google's search algorithm one of the most guarded secrets at the company, some of the only code that regular rank and file Googlers aren't allowed to see, even you, a Googler who's failing to disclose your bias here in these comments... can't prove otherwise.
- namesbc 10y ago
  Are you trying to parody a debunked conspiracy theorist? You are good, but your "isn't really a solid proof of Google manipulating results, but that doesn't mean it's true that they aren't" line that gave you away as a parody account.
  - ocdtrekkie 10y ago
    Hey, this is the realm of easily provable fact. If Google isn't manipulating results: Prove it. It's easy to do, just open source the algorithm. Long as you can't do that, you're not really doing much to advance the conversation. Just being a paid shill for your employer.