Climate cleansing: Google to censor skeptics?

… Google leads people to accurate information about climate change. Fifty-two percent of the 980 sites [returned by a Google search on climate change-related terms] contained clear statements in line with the vast majority of peer-reviewed climate science evidence. For example, if you had searched for “climate change myths” in early May, you would have found this Environmental Defense Fund site, which says, “The most respected scientific bodies have stated unequivocally that global warming is occurring, and people are causing it.”

Meanwhile, can search engines do a better job of pointing the public toward credible sites? A Google spokeswoman, who insisted on anonymity because she is not a Google executive, said the company is always looking for ways to improve results. “Last year, we made 500 changes to the algorithm to improve search quality,” she said.

May 20, 2011 Dr. Larry Page CEO Google, Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 Dear Dr. Page, I am writing to request that Google repudiate web search censorship based on point-of-view. An unidentified Google spokesman has indicated that Google may alter its search algorithms so as to, in effect, censor the views of the so-called climate skeptics. On May 18, 2011, the Yale Forum on Climate Change bemoaned the fact that only 52 percent of the 980 web sites [returned by a Google search on climate change-related terms] “contained clear statements in line with the vast majority of peer-reviewed climate science evidence.” (See) In response to the question, “can search engines do a better job of pointing the public toward credible sites”, a Google spokesman, who insisted on anonymity because she is not a Google executive, said the company is always looking for ways to improve results. “Last year, we made 500 changes to the algorithm to improve search quality,” she said — thus implying that Google might be willing to censor and bias search results concerning climate science. But climate science is one of the most hotly contested public policy topics of our time. The notion that Google might slant search results to favor one side is repugnant and will damage Google’s brand. I am requesting that Google publicly repudiate censorship based on point-of-view and commit to policies and practices that do not discriminate between points-of-view. Sincerely, Steve Milloy Publisher

Support Canada Free Press

VIEW Comments