Google, Hillary, and the Search Conspiracy Kooks
http://lauren.vortex.com/2016/06/google-hillary-and-the-search-conspiracy-kooks
I'll let you in on a little secret. I have better ways to spend my
Saturdays than writing blog posts about nutso conspiracy theories.
Seriously, I really do. But the conspiracy fanatics are again on a
wacky rampage, this time with the ludicrous claim that Google is
purposely manipulating search results to favor Hillary Clinton over
racist, misogynist con-man Donald Trump.
Whether you support Hillary, Trump, or the Man in the Moon, the sheer
illogic of these new conspiracy claims make a typical Federico Fellini
film look staid and sane by comparison.
The fundamental problem with the vast majority of conspiracy theories
is that they require the assumed perpetrators to be inept idiots.
Because clearly, we'd almost never know about or even suspect
conspiracies managed by the smart folks.
Case in point, the current Google/Hillary conspiracy crud.
The conspiracy nuts would have us believe that Google is purposely
(and obviously!) manipulating search "autocomplete" results to
de-emphasize negative completions regarding Hillary Clinton.
This makes about as much sense as running a foot race on a motorcycle.
It would be immediately clear that something was amiss -- and what
kind of lamebrain conspiracy would that be?
Google has every reason to keep their search results useful and
honest, both for purely ethical reasons and since their users can
switch to other firms with a single click of the mouse.
But for the sake of the argument, if I were Google and I wanted to
manipulate search results in a dastardly, evil way (cue the Darth
Vader theme), I'd be trying to hide negative Hillary search results in
the main Google search index, not in autocomplete.
And yet if you do a regular Google Search for any negative topics
regarding Hillary Clinton -- even the nuttiest ones that the haters
spew on endlessly about -- you'll get enough pages of results back to
keep you in hardcore conspiracy heaven for a lifetime.
So what's the problem with Google Search autocomplete?
Nothing. Autocomplete is working exactly as it should.
In fact, if I type in "hillary e" I immediately get a list that
features the silly "email indictment" stories. If I enter "hillary cr"
I get back "crazy" - "crying" - "crooked" - with results pointing at
vast numbers of negative, right-wing trash sites.
So why when you simply enter "hillary" don't all those negative
completions appear?
Well, for the same reason that "trump ra" returns autocomplete results
like "racism" and "racist" but "trump" alone does not.
If we go back a few years, there were widely publicized complaints and
even lawsuits arguing that Google Search autocomplete overemphasized
"negative" or somehow "undesirable" information about some searched
individuals and other topics-- even though those autocomplete results
were valid on an algorithmic basis.
And over time, we can see that autocomplete has evolved by returning
more "generic" completions until the user's query becomes a bit more
specific.
Whether or not one personally agrees with this mode of operation, the
important point is that it doesn't favor anyone -- it behaves the same
way for everyone. Hillary. Trump. Even Justin Bieber.
There's no Google search political favoritism. No conspiracy. Nothing
to see here other than honest search results. Move along ...
I realize that this is disappointing to Trump fans and to conspiracy
aficionados in general.
But hey, there's always other crazy conspiracy theories to keep you
busy. The moon landings. The Illuminati. Yeah, and reptilian lizard
people. Hell, even Francis Bacon vs. Shakespeare!
Have at it, gang!
Be seeing you.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently
doing so -- my opinions expressed here are mine alone.
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