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Measuring the "Filter Bubble": How Google is influencing what you click


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2018 Dec 5, 8:17am   942 views  4 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (55)   💰tip   ignore  

https://spreadprivacy.com/google-filter-bubble-study/

Over the years, there has been considerable discussion of Google's "filter bubble" problem. Put simply, it's the manipulation of your search results based on your personal data. In practice this means links are moved up or down or added to your Google search results, necessitating the filtering of other search results altogether. These editorialized results are informed by the personal information Google has on you (like your search, browsing, and purchase history), and puts you in a bubble based on what Google's algorithms think you're most likely to click on.

The filter bubble is particularly pernicious when searching for political topics. That's because undecided and inquisitive voters turn to search engines to conduct basic research on candidates and issues in the critical time when they are forming their opinions on them. If they’re getting information that is swayed to one side because of their personal filter bubbles, then this can have a significant effect on political outcomes in aggregate.

Back in 2012 we ran a study showing Google's filter bubble may have significantly influenced the 2012 U.S. Presidential election by inserting tens of millions of more links for Obama than for Romney in the run-up to that election.


Google is manipulating US elections much more than Russia even tried to. Google is the greater evil by far. It needs to be broken up.

Comments 1 - 4 of 4        Search these comments

1   MisdemeanorRebel   2018 Dec 5, 8:49am  

This happened last night.

I searched for "germany crime increase"

Now there was an German Report that showed that Immigrants and Refugees were linked to crime, esp. Sex Crimes. That and English Summaries of it wasn't on the first page. Instead, almost the entire first page of the Google Search was "Explainer" type articles from WaPo, CNN, etc. critical of the report, including the first few hits. The very first result was a "BBC Reality Check: Are Immigrants Driving Crime in Germany?"

Of course, there's an old journalistic saw that whenever a headline asks a question, the answer is no. Naturally the article goes out of it's way to emphasize the skeptics of the report and pour as much doubt on it as possible.

When I used DuckDuckGo, the first links were to articles summarizing the German Report, and then the report itself.
2   HeadSet   2018 Dec 5, 8:58am  

Google is manipulating US elections much more than Russia even tried to. Google is the greater evil by far. It needs to be broken up.

And oddly enough, any breakup of Google will likely start in Europe.
3   NuttBoxer   2018 Dec 5, 11:39am  

Good thing Googles biggest search influence is in the realm of make-believe.
4   Ceffer   2018 Dec 5, 11:51am  

Ebay, too, for price optimizing. I notice that certain items get preferential price treatment, even if you ask for lowest price. I'll go to the bottom of the page to find highlighted merchants who are offering at less, so I will peruse around the margins before buying.

Amazon also has same items at different prices.

I get kind of tired of ads for things I have already bought, but the internet beast has me pinned and squirming in terms of being data profiled for purchases. As far as legacy press being bumped up in searches, such 'first page' ranking services have been around for a while, whether from google itself or the legacy press paying for it.

With the legacy press using it's strident propaganda platforms, it doesn't always work, because I have a clenching aversion to reading ANYTHING from them any more, so I automatically screen them out, even those I used to read on a regular or semi-regular basis. The diet of spin and anti is nauseating.

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