To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (1066918 ) 4/26/2018 5:29:19 PM From: RetiredNow Respond to That might be the fundamental question of the day. With so much propaganda out there on so many different issues, it has become damned near impossible for the average person to figure out the truth. You and I are highly educated, albeit in different areas of expertise. So we at least have a fighting chance. But what about the other 90% of Americans? Makes you despair for the average person's access to the truth. So little exists in the public dialogue now. To whit...check this article out that someone forwarded me from Breitbart. Not my favorite publication to try to get at unbiased information, but I have to say that I've never viewed Facebook or Google as unbiased participants in the political dialogue. Google employees are well known in Silicon Valley for their incredibly liberal views. Hell, Silicon Valley is a very liberal place. So it is not beyond imagination or possibility that Google employees stack the deck in favor of liberal candidates. Makes you wonder if our Democracy is on its deathbed. I think it is. The game is rigged in so many ways that it's a damned miracle if the American people get what they want. EXCLUSIVE — Research: Google Search Manipulation Can Swing Nearly 80 Percent of Undecided Voters Allum Bokhari 24 Apr 2018 0 research by a team at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology and reported exclusively by Breitbart News.The lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Epstein, has previously conducted research into what he calls the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME). This research showed that the manipulation of results pages in search engines can shift the voting preferences of undecideds by anywhere between 20 and 80 percent, depending on the demographic.The voting preferences of participants who saw no search suggestions shifted toward the favored candidate by 37.1%. The voting preferences of participants in the search suggestion groups who saw only positive search suggestions shifted similarly (35.6%). However, the voting preferences of participants who saw three positive search suggestions and one negative search suggestion barely shifted (1.8%); this occurred because the negative search suggestion attracted more than 40% of the clicks (negativity bias). In other words, a single negative search suggestion can impact opinions dramatically. Participants who were shown four negative suggestions (and no positives) shifted away from the candidate shown in the search bar (-43.4%). The researchers conclude that by using this method of manipulation, search engines can shift a “50/50 split split among people who are undecided on an issue to a 90/10 split without people’s awareness and without leaving a paper trail for authorities to follow.”Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter , Gab.ai and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to allumbokhari@protonmail.com .
