[thoughtomator]

Google is manipulating the vote in every way it can; anyone who says different is an ignoramus and a fool. The only open questions relate to specific details of how they implement, not their intent or ability to implement.

[Billthedrill]

I agree, and what is astonishing to me is Google's management's claim that it's impossible to do. It is, in fact, trivially easy, and anyone with a credit card can hire a company who specializes in it to do it on their behalves. Google up - there is an irony in that - goggle up "search engine optimization" or "search engine poisoning" to have the entire thing offered to the user in package form.

They do it, they know they're doing it, and they know the public knows they're doing it and they don't care.

[cpdiii]

Google has become the “Ministry of Truth” as in Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Oddly Orwell predicted a totalitarian state with top down authority. He never suspected a media with compliance with authoritarians on the top with a common objective. Today they have become one and the same. He got it mostly right.

[ManHunter]

I’m with you. People see an issue, “Google” it, get 10,000-plus results on that topic, scan a few on the first or second page of results (rarely deeper), but read only one or two articles. It’s entirely logical to conclude that the essence and general tone of the first several returns is what will stick and influence the person doing the “research”.

If one doesn’t know how to search and uses only very broad, general terms - like most users, that’s precisely what happens. Furthermore, users can buy enhanced visibility of their information, which further skews the results. It’s the value and the danger of the semantic web.