I was just surfing at random a while ago, looking for my own diary on the“Johnson Amendment” that I couldn’t locate when I first went through the list. (still 7th out of 40 million articles -- a shot for my ego) Then I added “Donald Trump” to the Google search and here’s what popped up at the top of the list, something called a “Featured Snippet” (Note: This essay explores the effect of this Google Algorithm, which is fluid, and existed for at least several hours after this was posted, and now has changed. This is partly as a result of the readers who followed my original headline, which was to Google the four words themselves)
The Johnson Amendment Restricts Free Speech. Donald Trump has promised plenty this election cycle: Economic growth, border security, and a stronger America abroad. ... “An amendment, pushed by Lyndon Johnson many years ago, threatens religious institutions,” Trump claimed at the Republican National Convention in July.Oct 13, 2016
dailycaller.com/2016/10/13/the-johnson-amendment-restricts-free-speech/
I was a bit shocked, since this is obviously a partisan slant, and didn’t seem to fit the Google image, and their very simple motto, “Don’t be evil” They do provide a link to complain, which I did. Then I noticed when the words Donald Trump are not included in the search the Featured Snippet is this:
The Johnson Amendment refers to a change in the U.S. tax code made in 1954 which prohibited certain tax-exempt organizations from endorsing and opposing political candidates.JJohnson Amendment - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Amendment
Now get this, when the search is just missing the “Donald” then the Featured Snippet will revert to the balanced segment of the Wikipedia article. This shows me it’s an algorithm that blindly seeks out the words and then excerpts the article that has the most hits. And this tells me something else that’s interesting, those who support the Republican slant tend to refer to him as Donald Trump, while those who don’t, call him “Trump.” And so in this example the blind automaton, this algorithm of the Google goliath is perpetuating “
Confirmation Bias" without any human intervention, or I assume intent of the system designer.
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Google’s explanation for this “Featured Snippet” seems to indicate it’s not for sale, which now seems factual by this evidence. This is in contrast to a feature on the right hand side of the page called a “Knowledge Graph” which is a box with business information in response to a specific query, for example“ Perdue Pharma” Then this box is shown to the right of the list of responses ordered on frequency of queries, one that does not mention the latest lawsuit or scandal. Such negative information will still be available, and I would guess that the agreement with Google is not to have a Featured Snippet for such a query when they have sold the company a Knowledge Graph.
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This may be a place for a reminder that Wikipedia is based on what is called the five pillars, one is NPOV, neutral point of view. This can never really be achieved to everyone’s satisfaction, yet I feel the site does attempt to adhere to it, but it takes a balance of committed individuals, “editors” who will fight for their position with the compromise resulting in this neutrality. I did this personally for the Electoral College site, to show that the electors could change their pledge, and met resistance.
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I also inserted in the Wikipedia article a single line that describes Trumps thanking
Alex Jones, the ultra-conspiricy theorist talk show host, for making a difference in his winning the election. Jones has purchased a “Knowledge Graph” for the right side of the Google search for him, and his online website Infowars is at the top of the list of popularity to the left. His own websites do not include Trump thanking him for winning the election, so this rather important reality of a fantasist talk show host with scores of millions of listeners and readers swaying this election would only be known by one who goes on to Wikipedia and reads the entire article and sees my one line, or who knows about this man’s single handed contribution to making Trump president from other articles.
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The internet is a battlefield, that takes committed individuals who can effect change with only an investment of time. Some are in it for the money, and others for principles that they value. I am able to edit Wikipedia sites that are limited to only those who have been doing it for several years, and who understand and have accepted their rules. So, I select important subjects that I know something about and see if there are missing elements, and then decide whether I want to jump into the fray.
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Let me wish all who read this a Happy New Year, and in (almost) the words of
the Old Philosopher, “Never give up, never give up, the fight”