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The Closing of the Internet Mind
Brownstone Institute ^ | 5/27/24 | Jeffrey A. Tucker, Debbie Lerman, Aaron Kheriaty

Posted on 05/27/2024 3:55:09 PM PDT by CFW

You have surely heard that your search results on Google (with 92 percent share of the search market) reflect not your curiosities and needs but someone or something else’s views on what you need to know. That’s hardly a secret.

And on Facebook, you are likely inundated by links to official sources to correct any errors you might carry in your head, as well as links to corrections to posts as made by any number of fact-checking organizations.

You have likely also heard of YouTube videos being taken down, apps deleted from stores, and accounts being canceled across a variety of platforms.

You might have even adjusted your behavior in light of all of this. It is part of the new culture of Internet engagement. The line you cannot cross is invisible. You are like a dog with an electric shock collar. You have to figure it out on your own, which means exercising caution when you post, pulling back on hard claims that might shock, paying attention to media culture to discern what is sayable and what is not, and generally trying to avoid controversy as best you can in order to earn the privilege of not being canceled.

Despite all the revelations regarding the Censorship Industrial Complex, and the wide involvement of government in these efforts, plus the resulting lawsuits that claim that this is all censorship, the walls are clearly closing in further by the day.

[snip]

No one needs to censor you at that point. You censor yourself.

It was not always this way. It was not even supposed to be this way.

(Excerpt) Read more at brownstone.org ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: censoringyourself; censorship; control; donatefreerepublic; goonwelfare; government; information; internet; jimneedsyou; jimseesyou
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Most of us have noticed how internet news, searches, and information has changed, especially over the past 8 years. This is a good article giving an overview of those changes and the effect on people's online speech.

Well worth the read.

1 posted on 05/27/2024 3:55:09 PM PDT by CFW
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To: CFW

The Internet censorship is an international crime against humanity—everyone involved should go up on Nuremberg like charges—.gov or private, whatever.


2 posted on 05/27/2024 3:59:39 PM PDT by cgbg ("Our democracy" = Their Kleptocracy)
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To: CFW
The globalists and their minions are determined that the peasants will not learn and think for themselves.

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot unlearn the many lies they've been taught to believe.



3 posted on 05/27/2024 4:06:11 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: CFW

You can’t get anything except Lefty narratives on any of the search engines.

It is infuriating.


4 posted on 05/27/2024 4:11:47 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: CFW

Anyone know of a less biased search engine than google (or the ones that mostly use it behind the scenes)?


5 posted on 05/27/2024 4:11:55 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (We're a nation of feelings, not thoughts.)
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To: Mr Rogers

DuckDuckGo vs. Google

https://www.vdigitalservices.com/duckduckgo-vs-google/


6 posted on 05/27/2024 4:20:23 PM PDT by Jyotishi (Seeking the truth, a fact at a time.)
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To: Mr Rogers

“You can’t get anything except Lefty narratives on any of the search engines.

It is infuriating.”


It IS infuriating. I can search for an article from a conservative site that I know I read but can’t remember from where. Even searching by almost the exact title, the article will not show up on the first search page. Instead, I get government approved claptrap.

Google approves of Politico, The Hill, NYTs, WaPo, and CNN for political articles, with an occasional PBS and Wokeapedia return included. Today, I searched for something and received returns all in Spanish.

Each time I think I’ve found a new search engine it only takes a couple of weeks before it moves left as well. For instance, Duck Duck Go is now no better than Google.


7 posted on 05/27/2024 4:22:41 PM PDT by CFW
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To: Mr Rogers

“Anyone know of a less biased search engine than google (or the ones that mostly use it behind the scenes)?”


I haven’t found one yet. I beginning to think other search engines just use google.


8 posted on 05/27/2024 4:23:41 PM PDT by CFW
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To: CFW

They still print books, y’all.


9 posted on 05/27/2024 4:28:29 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative. )
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To: Mr Rogers

I don’t really notice the bias much because mostly I am just looking for factual information and google is pretty good for that. Sure there is distractions about politics but I filter that out.


10 posted on 05/27/2024 4:28:47 PM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: Mr Rogers

I use Freespoke occasionally, but it’s not all that great.
Bing seems to be only slightly less slanted than g00gle.


11 posted on 05/27/2024 4:32:13 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> --- )
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To: Mr Rogers; CFW; All

Naomi B. gives a synopsis here:

https://youtu.be/o4sMstvwi0I?si=5pZK9XNJdE3neMO8

(There are several search pages that use Google but “sanitize” the search...i.e. “StartPage”...but most of these listed are independent of Google)

-Brave Search
-DuckDuckGo
-MetaGer
-SearX
-Qwant
-StartPage
-Mojeek
-YaCy


12 posted on 05/27/2024 4:32:15 PM PDT by Drago
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To: CFW

This group is fighting 24/7 across America and the world to drive a wooden stake into the heartless thugs wanting to control us 24/7 via the internet and our choices.

https://brownstone.org/articles/the-closing-of-the-internet-mind/


13 posted on 05/27/2024 4:34:31 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (“If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it!” )
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To: Mr Rogers

Yandex.com is different. I don’t like all the hits, but sometimes I find something interesting.


14 posted on 05/27/2024 4:35:43 PM PDT by ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas (Re-imagine the media!)
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To: Jyotishi

I personally do not find much difference between the two. I get pretty much the same type of results.


15 posted on 05/27/2024 4:42:14 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: CFW

I’ve not heard of any significant boycott out of the Wokeness of any of the major big tech companies, so why would they change?

A handful of conservatives maybe might change a bookmark here or there but this is statistically insignificant.

There are -zero- structural changes by conservatives aimed at big tech. So here we are.


16 posted on 05/27/2024 4:42:31 PM PDT by ProgressingAmerica (The historians must be stopped. They're destroying everything.)
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To: AndyJackson

When I do a search for something of some sensitivity - transgender conversions maybe, or COVID anything - I get three pages of government-approved stuff and MAYBE then start getting some dissenting views.

I’ve used Startpage for some time now. May add Yandex for searching things with political sensitivity. It is from Russia and almost certainly biased, but maybe in a different way that search engines in the West. I’m tired of finding the CDC as one of the first websites on any health related issue...


17 posted on 05/27/2024 5:03:00 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (We're a nation of feelings, not thoughts.)
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To: Mr Rogers

Your brain? Works for me.


18 posted on 05/27/2024 5:10:18 PM PDT by aspasia
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To: CFW

I easily used startpage.com to evade Google’s censorship to find a research paper confirming that both the virus & the jab have harmful mRNA spike protein that can surmount the blood-brain barrier.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10452662/


19 posted on 05/27/2024 5:14:57 PM PDT by CharlesOConnell (CharlesOConnell)
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To: CFW

I have been missing a decent search engine for years!

There is no real internet search.

All search engines use some aspects of Google and Google is twisted.

There is no truth.


20 posted on 05/27/2024 5:22:13 PM PDT by Chickensoup
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