{"id":8606,"date":"2017-01-07T05:39:58","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T05:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=8606"},"modified":"2017-01-07T05:39:58","modified_gmt":"2017-01-07T05:39:58","slug":"is-googles-eagerness-to-answer-questions-promoting-more-falsehood-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/is-googles-eagerness-to-answer-questions-promoting-more-falsehood-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Google’s eagerness to answer questions promoting more falsehood online?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thomas Maher<\/a>, University of Arizona<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When people have questions, they often ask Google<\/a>. They expect high-quality, accurate answers<\/a>. Late last year, it emerged that the top answer Google gave<\/a> to \u201cDid the Holocaust happen?<\/a>\u201d linked to a neo-Nazi, white supremacist, Holocaust-denying website.<\/p>\n

The ensuing outcry<\/a> included people buying Google ads for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum<\/a> so that it would appear near the top of the results as well. After initial resistance, Google tweaked its algorithm<\/a> \u2013 but only enough to push the false, prejudiced information somewhat farther down<\/a> in the results.<\/p>\n

These responses, however, miss a crucial element of the interplay between the tactics of Holocaust deniers\u2019 tactics (and conspiracy theorists more broadly) and Google\u2019s search algorithm. Google wants to answer questions, and is often very good at it<\/a>. But when the question itself has a hidden or implicit agenda, like expressing doubt about historical facts, the urge to answer that question shifts from a strength to a weakness.<\/p>\n

Sowing doubts about the historical record is the bread and butter of Holocaust denial, and conspiracy theories more broadly. These illegitimate sites claim to be innocently curious, \u201cjust asking questions<\/a>\u201d about historical events and widely held beliefs. They are, of course, much more nefarious, seeking to spread anti-Semitism and right-wing hate<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As a scholar of political sociology and the Holocaust, it\u2019s clear to me that sites intentionally presenting misinformation and propaganda are preying upon Google\u2019s eagerness to answer questions. These sites, peddling what is sometimes called \u201cfake news<\/a>,\u201d capitalize on people\u2019s tendency to ask those questions directly on Google. This is one important example of the real-world effects of how algorithms are written. Human programmers need to be aware that there can be actual social consequences when they write what can seem like dry, straightforward code.<\/p>\n

Many sites don\u2019t answer the question<\/h2>\n
\n \"\"<\/a>
\n In this May 1945 image, a U.S. soldier dips his hands into a crate full of rings confiscated from prisoners in Buchenwald.<\/span>
\n National Archives and Records Administration<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, and very importantly: Of course the Holocaust happened<\/a>. There are mountains of evidence<\/a> proving it happened<\/a>. The perpetrators admitted<\/a> to it<\/a>. There are documents outlining the transport<\/a> and extermination process<\/a>. There is forensic evidence<\/a> from the extermination sites<\/a>. And there is abundant corroborating<\/a> eyewitness testimony.<\/p>\n

But code matters: Google\u2019s search algorithm<\/a> uses more than 200 factors<\/a> to figure out how to prioritize results so as to give users the information they\u2019re looking for. One of the first things it looks at is how well the site\u2019s content responds to the specific inquiry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, if a person searches for \u201crunning shoes,\u201d Google doesn\u2019t know, from the query, exactly what about running shoes the person is hoping to learn. So it will offer results<\/a> ranging from reviews of running shoes to places selling running shoes.<\/p>\n

But asking whether the Holocaust happened is the equivalent of asking \u201cDid World War II happen?\u201d Understandably, legitimate sites don\u2019t typically engage with the idea that it might not have. Despite being filled with detailed discussions of what, when, where, why, how and to whom the Holocaust happened, the most authoritative sites on the history of the Holocaust don\u2019t address this one direct underlying question: Did it happen? They know it did, and elaborate from there.<\/p>\n

However, this appears to suggest to Google\u2019s algorithm that those sites don\u2019t have the most relevant information to answer the specific question a searcher is asking.<\/p>\n

This problem is amplified because Google\u2019s algorithm attempts to evaluate sites\u2019 credibility when determining where to include them in search results<\/a>. When reputable sites don\u2019t seem to provide the answer, less trusted<\/a> sources that offer direct \u2013 though false \u2013 responses are able to rise to the top of the search results.<\/p>\n

Making matters worse, the algorithm uses machine learning<\/a> to offer related suggestions about what the searcher might be looking for, even if they don\u2019t use the exact search terms. An initial query premised on Holocaust denial will trigger the system to provide more options like it.<\/p>\n

A way for experts to respond<\/h2>\n

Taken together, the way that deniers frame questions and the Google algorithm\u2019s desire to answer specific questions combine into a recipe for spreading conspiracy theories across the internet. However, Google\u2019s emphasis on credibility means that experts have avenues for addressing these issues: public writing, blogging and linking to factually accurate work. <\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n The results as of Jan. 4 at 1:30 p.m Eastern time.<\/span>
\n Screenshot<\/span>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If the Holocaust Museum were to write an article titled \u201cDid the Holocaust happen?\u201d and provide some basic facts, the content and the site\u2019s credibility would move it to the top of the search results. Its current page confronting Holocaust denial<\/a> could even be quickly modified to add a line saying \u201cOften this denial comes in the form of a question: \u2018Did the Holocaust happen?\u2019\u201d That would introduce the keywords that could boost the existing page\u2019s relevance to Google\u2019s algorithm. (Whether due to additional tweaking on Google\u2019s part, or its algorithm\u2019s response to news coverage, Holocaust Museum content is, as of this writing, much more prominently displayed in Google\u2019s results.)<\/p>\n

To be sure, this will not eliminate Holocaust denier websites from Google\u2019s search results entirely, and perhaps not even from the first page of them. Nor will it deter dedicated deniers from finding information that supports their preconceived notions about history. Holocaust denial is based on a selective interpretation of the historical record and deep-seated anti-Semitic beliefs. No website will correct or uproot these beliefs in one fell swoop. <\/p>\n

However, offering accurate information alongside false information may give individuals who have yet to internalize these beliefs pause. And it suggests a useful path to those who seek to disseminate truth and fact in the face of denial and conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Thomas Maher<\/a>, Postdoctoral Researcher in Sociology, University of Arizona<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thomas Maher, University of Arizona When people have questions, they often ask Google. They expect high-quality, accurate answers. Late last year, it emerged that the top answer Google gave to \u201cDid the Holocaust happen?\u201d linked to a neo-Nazi, white supremacist, Holocaust-denying website. The ensuing outcry included people buying Google ads for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[30],"tags":[550,1617,1826,619,1824,1523,1605,1827,1825,1823],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8608,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606\/revisions\/8608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}