
Paying Professors: Inside Google’s Academic Influence Campaign - evilturnip
https://www.wsj.com/articles/paying-professors-inside-googles-academic-influence-campaign-1499785286?mg=prod/accounts-wsj
======
Upvoter33
Universities usually have pretty good rules around this sort of thing,
minimally that the paper has to acknowledge its funding sources. The amount of
$$ Google spends, however, pales in comparison to what is going on in the drug
industry, where millions of dollars go into funding research on drug safety
and efficacy. However, that's not even news anymore, it's so rampant.

~~~
mjw1007
But do they check and enforce those rules?

From the article: « The paper, published in 2012, didn’t mention his sponsor.
“Oh, wow. No, I didn’t. That’s really bad,” he said in an interview. “That’s
purely oversight.” »

------
wuch
"What sorts of decisions does he [sponsor] make? According to some network
executives, he no longer makes decisions that deal with programming. Spokesmen
for sponsoring organizations tend toward similar statements, but with a
difference. They say they don't want to control programming, but insist on the
right to decide with what programs their names or commercials will be
associated. They leave it to broadcasting companies to provide suitable
settings for this participation. The broadcasters do so.

Perhaps they are all saying that sponsorship has become so essential, so
crucial to the whole scheme of things, that interference of the old sort is no
longer necessary. A vast industry has grown up around the needs and wishes of
sponsors. Its program formulas, business practices, ratings, demographic
surveys have all evolved in ways to satisfy sponsor requirements. He has
reached the ultimate status: most decision-making swirls at levels below him,
requiring only his occasional benediction at this or that selected point. He
is potentate of our time."

The Sponsor - Eric Barnouw

------
denzil_correa
All this just sometimes makes me wonder if you can develop into a big
organization without indulging in shady practices. Is it even possible?

We all know about Uber and Greyball [0]. Then, you have Onava and Facebook to
peek into user data [1]. Now, this with Google. We have seen this across other
industries like GMO and food too.

[0] [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-
greyball-...](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-
program-evade-authorities.html)

[1] [https://outline.com/WnGGRk](https://outline.com/WnGGRk)

~~~
lighthazard
I think the mantra is 'do it until you get sued and then do it a little
longer'

------
remus
Non-paywalled [https://archive.fo/0KSDw](https://archive.fo/0KSDw)

~~~
brudgers
Fox News is owned by the same parent company,
[http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/12/paying-professors-
ins...](http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/12/paying-professors-inside-
googles-academic-influence-campaign.html)

------
sogen
$5,000?!

~~~
sgift
Cannot read the article, but .. for a blog post from a respected researcher
supporting Googles position? Sounds like a good paycheck.

~~~
sogen
it's for academic research papers

