Is Google censoring its search results for political reasons?
Michel Bauwens recently called to my attention a case of censorship, by Google, of ampedstatus.org, a site providing news and commentary on current events. There were two instances of censorship, documented in articles on the ampedstatus.org site. The first one goes back to April 2010 and is detailed here:
Shocking Censorship at Google News and the Future of Net Neutrality
When we first created our news site AmpedStatus.com, we spent a considerable amount of time filling out a form requested by Google News, to get our news site listed in their search results. We carefully worded and submitted our information to meet Google’s requirements. However, after waiting several days, we received a form email stating that our request had been denied. Unlike Rupert Murdoch, who obviously has no understanding of how the internet works, I know it is vital to get listed on Google News. (Note to Stupert Murdoch: Not getting listed on Google News is like not having your newspapers displayed on newsstands.)
So right from the start, I knew my work at AmpedStatus would have a hard time reaching a wide audience due to Google’s rejection (censorship). We then decided to put much effort and our limited resources into Search Engine Optimization. At least we could maximize Google’s general search results. However, when I released my report “The Critical Unraveling of U.S. Society,” Google blocked it from appearing in their general search results. I wrote a brief post about Google censoring my report and tried to contact Google several times but never got a response.
One of the great things about The Public Record is that it is listed in Google News search results. So, even though we were censored, we have been able to still get our work listed in this vital online newsstand. However, the powers-that-be at Google seem to have caught on to the fact that The Public Record is publishing our work. My latest report is the first report that The Public Record has ever had removed from Google News search results. This is obviously a case a selective censorship!
There is a more recent case, also documented by ampedstatus.org, of censorship by Google. This time it was a report on Occupy Wall Street and the origins of the 99% movement. The case is documented here:
Google Censors Our #OccupyWallStreet Report
Over the past few years, we have had a few cases were Google decided to censor a report of ours from their search results. We documented one case publicly here. We usually don’t make a big deal about it online because people tend to just dismiss us as “crazy” when we do. However, this latest case is blocking our new report on the #OccupyWallStreet movement and we would like to bring it to the attention of the many supporters within the movement. The post is entitled, “A Report from the Frontlines: The Long Road to #OccupyWallStreet and the Origins of the 99% Movement.”
After we published it late yesterday afternoon, when we checked Google and typed in the full headline, it was featured at the top of their search results . However, as of this morning, Google has removed our post from their results. As you can see from the screenshots below, our source post is not listed…
It would appear that reports like this can only be the very tip of an iceberg. Who knows what we never see because it is just plain missing from search results we rely on to tell us what’s “out there”.
Google also has a more public posture on eliminating things from searches. The program is called “Panda” and ostensibly, it is targeted at “thin” websites, sites that have been established by scraping content from others and that exist for the only purpose of bringing in advertising revenues for their owners. But apparently, many websites with in-depth, original reporting are also being hit. Robin Good has reported on the dilemma Panda brings for some of the smaller websites that supplement their income with Google ads.
The Google Panda Guide: Part 5 – The AdSense Dilemma
Major advertisers and their brands seem to be coming out ahead in this game. Here is an animation made by someone who was frustrated by Google’s selective promotion of certain brands.
Google, Bing and Yahoo
Google is by no means the only search engine in this type of game. Just this morning I was searching for an article by Greg Palast titled “The 1% who get the gold mine”, and I had my search set to use Yahoo. While secondary sources for that article came up at the top of the search results, Greg Palast’s own site was not among those shown.
A quick check with Bing, the Microsoft search engine, showed a similar picture. Secondary sources for the article listed, but Greg Palast’s site missing.
Google, to be truthful, in this case did show the original site in addition to the secondary sources.
But the point here is, whether it’s Google or some other major search engine: is someone monkeying with search results, effectively applying selective censorship of sites they believe should be withheld from public view? Could someone have decided that Greg Palast is too hot of an investigator to be shown on Bing’s (and Yahoo’s) search results?
Perhaps it is time to think about crowd sourced search, or about a p2p search engine where algorythms are open and where crappy results can be excluded, but openly, in the light of day. Secrecy certainly does not help in web search. The temptation to exclude certain content is just too great, and the pressure to do so must be overwhelming…
Oh yes, lest you might miss Greg Palast’s article, here it is:
The 1% who get the gold mine (we get the shaft)
