4 ms·

Can you provide more examples of this?

by meisel 5y ago

quacked 5y ago
Look up "proof the moon landing was fake". I have an aerospace degree and don't think it was fake, but I still find it strange that Google won't return any of the conspiracy pages I enjoyed reading about a decade ago.
- crazygringo 5y ago
  Probably not strange since they probably have very low PageRank, visits, etc. On the other hand, the top Google results go to The Guardian, Wikipedia, Time, the BBC, etc., discussing the topic -- hugely popular sites. Google's meant to find popular relevant pages for your search terms. Remember, that's what PageRank was all about. So seems to be working as expected.
  - Blikkentrekker 5y ago
    This does run into the same problem that Wikipedia runs into, that it insists on using “credible” or “reputable” sources but does not really bother to define that, and it essentially comes down to that sources are not “credible” for disagreeing with their beliefs. Personally, I have yet to see any “credible” news source and the adage remains that every news article about anything I have even the most minor inside knowledge of seems completely inaccurate, especially the politically laden ones. No matter what mechanism Google uses to assign such ranking: be it their own judgement or simply an agnostic a.i. that lets the masses decide, I cannot see anything good coming from it and there will always be a bias not based in factuality, but politics.
    - crazygringo 5y ago
      ...you don't see anything good coming from Google search results? ...that it's incentivized to return the results that the most people are looking for? As measured by clicks? If you don't believe the news and you don't find popularity useful either then I honestly can't imagine what you're even looking for then.
      - deertick1 5y ago
        Perhaps people of his, and my own, ilk are looking for results that match the search they perform? Why would I care about how popular a result is if all I want is to find a specific web page or a specific piece of information...
    - judge2020 5y ago
      > I cannot see anything good coming from it and there will always be a bias not based in factuality, but politics. Well, Google isn't omnipotent and thus it only echos back results which are popular with people, which is basically politics, so yes. If everyone tomorrow instantly started thinking the world was flat (and previous flat earthers start saying the world is round) Google's results would shift pretty dramatically to whatever is the most popular side.
NaturalPhallacy 5y ago
Search for "list of conservatives removed from twitter" on google vs. DDG. Google returns a list of left leaning sources down playing it, DDG returns a list of right leaning sources condemning it. The results are night and day different.
- deertick1 5y ago
  Ah interesting example. Thanks. Also your username gave me a chuckle

Can you provide more examples of this?

by meisel 5y ago

Can you provide more examples of this?

Look up "proof the moon landing was fake". I have an aerospace degree and don't think it was fake, but I still find it strange that Google won't return any of the conspiracy pages I enjoyed reading about a decade ago.

crazygringo 5y ago
Probably not strange since they probably have very low PageRank, visits, etc. On the other hand, the top Google results go to The Guardian, Wikipedia, Time, the BBC, etc., discussing the topic -- hugely popular sites. Google's meant to find popular relevant pages for your search terms. Remember, that's what PageRank was all about. So seems to be working as expected.
- Blikkentrekker 5y ago
  This does run into the same problem that Wikipedia runs into, that it insists on using “credible” or “reputable” sources but does not really bother to define that, and it essentially comes down to that sources are not “credible” for disagreeing with their beliefs. Personally, I have yet to see any “credible” news source and the adage remains that every news article about anything I have even the most minor inside knowledge of seems completely inaccurate, especially the politically laden ones. No matter what mechanism Google uses to assign such ranking: be it their own judgement or simply an agnostic a.i. that lets the masses decide, I cannot see anything good coming from it and there will always be a bias not based in factuality, but politics.
  - crazygringo 5y ago
    ...you don't see anything good coming from Google search results? ...that it's incentivized to return the results that the most people are looking for? As measured by clicks? If you don't believe the news and you don't find popularity useful either then I honestly can't imagine what you're even looking for then.
    - deertick1 5y ago
      Perhaps people of his, and my own, ilk are looking for results that match the search they perform? Why would I care about how popular a result is if all I want is to find a specific web page or a specific piece of information...
  - judge2020 5y ago
    > I cannot see anything good coming from it and there will always be a bias not based in factuality, but politics. Well, Google isn't omnipotent and thus it only echos back results which are popular with people, which is basically politics, so yes. If everyone tomorrow instantly started thinking the world was flat (and previous flat earthers start saying the world is round) Google's results would shift pretty dramatically to whatever is the most popular side.

NaturalPhallacy 5y ago

Search for "list of conservatives removed from twitter" on google vs. DDG. Google returns a list of left leaning sources down playing it, DDG returns a list of right leaning sources condemning it. The results are night and day different.

deertick1 5y ago
Ah interesting example. Thanks. Also your username gave me a chuckle