
Google's Search Algorithm Could Steal the Presidency - shahryc
http://www.wired.com/2015/08/googles-search-algorithm-steal-presidency/
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Paul_Dessert
Google is simply another avenue for information. You could just as easily
change the title to "Television Could Steal the Presidency".

If you asked 2,000 undecided voters (BTW, if you're undecided when you go to
the polls, don't vote) to read news articles in a left or right wing
publication, I'd bet the voter would likely be persuaded.

This is why we see so many commercials on TV right before an election.

To me, the real issue is people not spending enough time researching a
candidate.

~~~
ljk
> _To me, the real issue is people not spending enough time researching a
> candidate._

I feel like the voters are kind of powerless in the election process. Most
politicians are backed by giant corps and big money, and even the debates are
rigged and the candidates are supplied with pre-selected questions, and the
gerrymandering going on, sometimes it feels like we can't really affect the
outcome

~~~
Paul_Dessert
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pji_IX-
UacM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pji_IX-UacM)

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at-fates-hands
The manipulation of Google data (Google Bombing) has been going on for years
in political circles. The only problem here is Google takes its time removing
bad links for Republicans, but for Democrats, they have bad links taken down
in a matter of days.

Case in point? The obvious manipulation of Google results for Rick Santorum (a
Republican presidential candidate at one point) which continued to have
x-rated results for his name when searched in Google FOR OVER 6 YEARS.

Compare that to other quick searches for Anthony Weiner or John Edwards and
you hardly get one or two bad stories about them in the first ten results.

~~~
Sven7
Maybe it's just harder to distinguish Rick Santorum and a porn star. How would
you do it? Or maybe nobody cared enough to Google Bomb Weiner and Edwards.

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platinum1
I just googled "who is the next president?" and got this:
[http://imgur.com/eV8W5zr](http://imgur.com/eV8W5zr)

Although I can't imagine this strongly affecting someone's decision, the
subtler issue of result ordering (especially based on previous search history)
is an interesting one.

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shahryc
"In other words: Google’s ranking algorithm for search results could
accidentally steal the presidency. “We estimate, based on win margins in
national elections around the world,” says Robert Epstein, a psychologist at
the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology and one of the
study’s authors, “that Google could determine the outcome of upwards of 25
percent of all national elections."

