Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results
News
By News
Published 6 years ago on
November 19, 2019

Share

[aggregation-styles]

Subscription

Every minute, an estimated 3.8 million queries are typed into Google, prompting its algorithms to spit out results for hotel rates or breast-cancer treatments or the latest news about President Trump.
The company also boosts some major websites, such as Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.
They are arguably the most powerful lines of computer code in the global economy, controlling how much of the world accesses information found on the internet, and the starting point for billions of dollars of commerce.
Twenty years ago, Google founders began building a goliath on the premise that its search algorithms could do a better job combing the web for useful information than humans. Google executives have said repeatedly—in private meetings with outside groups and in congressional testimony—that the algorithms are objective and essentially autonomous, unsullied by human biases or business considerations.
In auto-complete, Google’s engineers have created algorithms and blacklists to weed out more-incendiary suggestions for controversial subjects, such as abortion or immigration, in effect filtering out inflammatory results on high-profile topics.
The company states in a Google blog, “We do not use human curation to collect or arrange the results on a page.” It says it can’t divulge details about how the algorithms work because the company is involved in a long-running and high-stakes battle with those who want to profit by gaming the system.
But that message often clashes with what happens behind the scenes. Over time, Google has increasingly re-engineered and interfered with search results to a far greater degree than the company and its executives have acknowledged, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
Those actions often come in response to pressure from businesses, outside interest groups and governments around the world. They have increased sharply since the 2016 election and the rise of online misinformation, the Journal found.

Read More →

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

DON'T MISS

Congress Members Split Over US Attack on Iran

DON'T MISS

Investors Brace for Oil Price Spike, Rush to Havens After US Bombs Iran Nuclear Sites

DON'T MISS

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

DON'T MISS

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

DON'T MISS

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Iran’s Key Nuclear Sites ‘Obliterated’ by Airstrikes

DON'T MISS

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

DON'T MISS

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

DON'T MISS

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

UP NEXT

Rise of the Anti-“Woke” Democrat

UP NEXT

High-Level Saudi Visit Follows Multimillion-Dollar Foreign Influence Operation

UP NEXT

Iran and Russia Move to Fill Diplomatic Vacuum in Afghanistan

UP NEXT

Pelosi’s Husband Locked In $5.3 Million From Alphabet Options

UP NEXT

Experts Reportedly See Major Damage in Attack on Iran Centrifuge Plant

UP NEXT

Opinion: School Choice Marches Ahead

UP NEXT

Zakaria: Americans Care About History Because the Stakes Are High

UP NEXT

California Democrats Are Reliably Pro-Labor. But One Union Is Testing Their Patience.

UP NEXT

The Tightrope Walk Democrats Have Ahead on Two Separate Infrastructure Bills

UP NEXT

Bill Barr on Trump’s Election Fraud Claims: “It Was All Bullsh*t”

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

15 hours ago

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

15 hours ago

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

16 hours ago

Trump Says Iran’s Key Nuclear Sites ‘Obliterated’ by Airstrikes

16 hours ago

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

21 hours ago

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

21 hours ago

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

21 hours ago

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

21 hours ago

Mahmoud Khalil Vows to Resume Pro-Palestinian Activism After Release From US Jail

21 hours ago

Trump Says He Wants to Fund More Trade Schools. Just Not These.

21 hours ago

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

The reaction of world leaders after U.S. forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday Iran time ranged from Israel lauding President ...

13 hours ago

Patrons of the Chapel Street Cafe watch as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. June 21, 2025. (Reuters/Dylan Martinez)
13 hours ago

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2023. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Congress Members Split Over US Attack on Iran

Emergency personnel work at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Haifa, Israel, June 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Investors Brace for Oil Price Spike, Rush to Havens After US Bombs Iran Nuclear Sites

President Donald Trump gestures next to a new flagpole with the U.S. flag after disembarking Marine One upon arrival at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 21, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt)
15 hours ago

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

A wildfire dubbed the Colvin Fire broke out Saturday near Woodlake in Tulare County, burning 46 acres with 0% containment and threatening two structures, according to CalFire. (CalFire)
15 hours ago

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

16 hours ago

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation alongside U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 21, 2025, following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Pool
16 hours ago

Trump Says Iran’s Key Nuclear Sites ‘Obliterated’ by Airstrikes

Oct 24, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of the centerfield plaza during media prior to game one of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images/File Photo
21 hours ago

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend