(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Why is GOOGLE Search Suddenly CENSORING Fact-Based Content from the Daily Kos? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-10 It really is a huge irony that I am writing about this recent surprise finding here in the Daily Kos, esp., today, of all days. This is and should remain a day or week of major celebration for progressive Democrats and moderate Democrats alike. Heck, maybe even some longtime Republicans that still have some semblance of a functioning conscience or a sense of right and wrong? Trump got indicted. Great! Finally. I have read the terms on the Daily Kos and I am aware that they prefer content that does not put any Democrats in a negative or disparaging light. But to Daily Kos’s credit, to my knowledge, they do not remove fact-based content that has been up for a several years. Good for them. Yesterday morning, I was overcome with an eerie surreal feeling that engulfed me while I was looking for one of my most oft-shared articles ever. It was gone! Well, okay, I discovered that I suddenly could not find it anywhere on Google. Usually, I’d just write a few words in the Google search bar and I find it easily. Not yesterday. So instead of just typing a few words into the Google search bar, I wrote the exact title of the article. An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton From a Wellesley Alumna Again, nothing. Hmmm. I quickly went through all of the so-called “relevant matches.” Here is what I got after going through 65 search results, at the bottom: In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 65 already displayed. If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included. I was in such a good mood with Trump’s indictment and all, I really did not care to spend much time and effort to overreact, by delving too deep to try and fully investigate “the Big Why” behind this Google search engine aberration. Instead, I surmised to myself, “How about if I just send what I know to a couple of news media Facebook friends?” [Of course, midday Friday, is a bad time to send anything to news folks, so I justifiably did not get a reply from any of the three journalists that I continue to hold in high esteem.] Here is what I sent to all three of them yesterday and why I believe that my claims warrant scrutiny: Friday June 9, 2023 12:39PM Dear __________ I have a question that I am hoping that you (a news journalist) can help me clarify. IF, suddenly (okay - the past month or so) I have discovered that GOOGLE IS ACTIVELY REMOVING LINKS TO FACT-BASED NEWS ARTICLES THAT HAVE STOOD FOR YEARS, wouldn’t this raise concerns for you? Even when I type in the EXACT NAME of the article, suddenly, it does not appear in Google searches. I understand there are law firms and companies that for a fee, can remove links to news articles that show us a disparaging light, BUT… what if the articles are factual, and share information to the public, regarding the actions of public servants, info that is important to know? I guess what I am saying is that now, I cannot help but see that Google is very corrupt, because they are protecting certain politicians (that chose to side with corporations over the voice of “We the People”) or suppressing news articles that share important findings with the public. This has crossed the line, big-time, in my view. So… you, being someone who has made a living out of reporting news, I must ask you: Don’t you think that Google removing fact-based articles (even if they put popular politicians in a disparaging light) is crossing the line, and needs to be questioned? [I have actual screenshots of my subpar search results, where I used specific search terms to retrieve those links. I am not kidding. Google is suddenly manipulating their search engine. Algorithms my ass.] You see, even as recently as a month ago, all of these news articles were easily found, and I only used a portion of the headline. But now? Using the entire headline, NOTHING? I smell something fishy here… Friday June 9, 2023 12:40PM For starters, here is what I mean. See the above screenshot with the specific title of the news article? Use whatever search engine or search criteria that you would usually use for researching news. The Daily Kos still has the article up. But suddenly, it is exceedingly difficult to find on Google. This is a red flag for me. Thanks for listening... I would love to hear your take on this SUDDEN CHANGE in Google search. Friday June 9, 2023 1:01 PM Last thought. The only other plausible explanation is that the Daily Kos ordered Google NOT to link articles (from their DK news site) in subsequent searches..., esp., IF it shows any Democrat in a less than favorable light? Maybe? [Either way, this is suppressing info the public should be able to access, without a lot of effort.] Friday June 9, 2023 1:07PM I was right. Omitting the HRC-Monsanto connection on the search results (fact) was a proactive Google-specific preemptive action. See? Yahoo did not change either. OMG! On DuckDuckGo, it showed up right away (as it should) on the first search! On DuckDuckGo, the link to the Daily Kos article was the first match. But nothing on Google? As the day began winding down, it suddenly dawned on me, “what about Bing? I forgot that Microsoft still even has a search engine. [In 2015, upon discovering that Microsoft was a member of the GMA that collectively spent 101 million dollars in a single year to avert mandatory food transparency, I chose to pay no heed to their products, from that point on. In fact, because of the Gates Foundation investing in over 500,000 shares of Monsanto over a dozen years ago, I thought it was inappropriate for the 2016 Iowa Caucus to be allowed to even use Microsoft technology, because of Gates’ almost over-the-top HRC loyalty. A major conflict-of-interest in my view.] Anyway, to Bing’s credit, the Daily Kos article appeared quickly, obviously easy to find as you can see. But there sure appears to be a lot of extra links that are in no way related to my search term before getting to the the real number two searching match; The Daily Kos article. See here, below. It certainly appears that the first match is paid placement because the link on the bottom is an exact match for the search term. The first match does not even have words like “alumna” or “open letter.” There are many reasons why I find this all so disturbing. This article in the Daily Kos was my first true political eye-opener. The once-in-a-lifetime wake-up call! I remember Feb. 10, 2008, like yesterday. I was about a half-year from turning the half-century mark. I was pretty much apolitical the first 49 years of my life, even after voting for Jimmy Carter at 18 years old. So in Feb. 2008, when I was trying to decide which Democrat to vote for, Obama or Hillary, this open letter opened my eyes beyond belief. Here it is. This was my all-time eye-opener: www.dailykos.com/... To this day, THAT ^ LETTER still inspires me and reminds me of exactly how long the majority of Americans still get ignored by those that are paid to represent them in this very touchy, polarizing issue of food transparency. Can you imagine Marianne Williamson in a televised event schooling all of the news hosts in interviews? I trust her and I can see her speaking up for the countless disenfranchised folks like myself (who marched three times in two years in support of the 90% of all Americans that support food transparency that generated almost zero media coverage) to any factory-food defending, corporate news host about how we have GF labels for Gluten Free. Why not labels that say, Glyphosate Free? No, she did not say this, but she GETS IT. This topic could be Marianne’s Big Hook to soar into her already double-digit polling, even higher. Or how about mandatory RUR labeling informing consumers which packaged foods are sourced from RoundUp Ready crops? Her, or any candidate that vows to bring the topic of food, food safety, or food freedom back to the political arena, front and center, would have my love and support for eternity. As a former Southwestern Company door-to-door bookman for three summers, I will even start knocking on doors again. The last time I knocked on stranger’s doors was at the end of the summer of 1981, in Batavia, NY just before going to Central Park to hear Simon & Garfunkel play on my 23rd birthday. Solo yet fun. I also trust Marianne Williams having gone to many of her ACIM lectures back in the late 1980s, at the Uni Church on Arizona Ave in Santa Monica. She is the real deal and warrants serious coverage and respect from the news media. It really feels as though the powers that be from both red and blue tribe, seem to have swept this entire issue of consumers right to know what and / or who is in their food, under the rug, as if a claimed victory that neither red or blue behemoth side wants resurrected. Maybe this is why it should be brought back! The reason behind why powerful Open Letters written to powerful people can have transformative, perception-reversing effects on our day-to-day reasoning and thought-processing is the raw truth and catharsis that propels the narrative. Any narrative that makes or encourages a person to pause and question the status quo, is good. This invites debate and discussion to inspire and attract new young voters. New voters that will hopefully develop a must-know hunger for the raw truth, and the facts and behind-the-scenes, follow-the-money details that accompany truth. Transparency is always valued, esp., by those who want truth. My second favorite “Open Letter” was this one written by Marianne Williamson in 2015. Thank you GMO Free USA for the stellar meme assemblage, with thought-provoking excerpts. The key highlights that I have shared numerous times from the above linked letter are in this meme: It is important for the DNC to take an objective view of itself in the mirror and ask critical and honest questions, if they really want to create the Blue Wave they claim they are aspiring for. Older subservient (to mega corporations) stubborn corporate Dems really do hurt the Dem brand to young folks. Why not make the Democratic platform more appealing to the young folks? MEDs (Monsanto-Enabling Democrats) like Dianne Feinstein are not conducive to inspiring the young, spirited, informed new voters that the Bernie Sanders revolution, brought en masse, to the Democratic voting table. Likewise, many of these young voters today, were children who marched against Monsanto just 10 years ago, hence, they too, are wise to the fact that MSNBC’s Claire McCaskill did not have their back on this food war. Seeing her on MSNBC serves as a reminder that my green-minded, plant-based, cannabis-cardio-fit, senior citizen ilk means diddly-jack to MSNBC. I can only imagine how the young kids who were marching with their moms against Monsanto from 2013 to 2015 feel seeing McCaskill as a frequent contributor on the what is supposedly deemed left-leaning major news media. Really? In my first and hopefully last political video rant that I made back in November, I wanted to explain to the MSNBC’s of the world that it is so obvious when they push for a Klobuchar type over Liz Warren, it always comes across as if it is some kind a cult-of-personality focus group contest (text who you like more — popularity nonsense) like in American Idol. Come on. This is our democracy, not just TV entertainment. These young kids who are now old enough to vote can see for themselves and research firsthand, to see who really has their back and who does not. The latter lady (Liz) is not a MED. The former chose the DARK ACT. It should not take an inordinate length of time for kids to discover this, for themselves. This is why Google censoring powerful words (or smothering them into cyberspace oblivion) such as these from the brilliant article from Feb. 10, 2008 to me is a huge travesty and leaves me feeling angry, disenfranchised and wholly disappointed at this entire Google web search censorship. Where does it stop? Where do we draw the line? There was a Florida school in Duval County that banned a book on my late brother’s childhood sports hero; Roberto Clemente. I was appalled. Google hiding Hillary’s Monsanto past is very alarming to me, for the exact same reason. My fully-functioning Moral Compass is not bipartisan. The issue that warrants concern for me is WHY IS GOOGLE (generally acknowledged as reliable for searching based on algorithms) the ONLY ONE that chose to suddenly exclude this Open Letter from their search engine? Both Roberto Clemente’s story and Hillary’s staunch Monsanto past and continuing loyalty belong in history books. Why not? Or at least the news archives, yes? I have never spoke badly of Google, but once I did express my disillusionment with my Dec. 2021 phone call with a Google Ad-Words specialist. I had a coupon for Ad-Words, and I had fun homemade video (Markomentary Trailer) that was my first Final Cut Pro project I wanted to get “out there,” as I continue editing and assembling hundreds of hours of video for the full-length version. In short, it was about humorously illuminating my marketing ineptitude going back to 1992 as I tried to introduce stationary dual-flywheel climbing to the fitness industry. [I was saving the four-year Bowflex shelving debacle between 1998 and 2002 for the full-length version, as well as my candid TELL-ALL narrative takes about who is classy and who is nice in the corporate fitness world, and who’s a humorless, elitist, corporate cutthroat jackass. Heh-heh, a fun project, now, spanning 30 years and a new patent pending too.] The Google Ad-Words dude seemed intent on ignoring my immediate needs as I stated to him. Just like the one Facebook rep I ever spoke to, he just kept trying to get me to think of my small country motel in upstate NY, then commit to spending a lot of money on a monthly budget. I said several times, “I am in NY’s second least populous county. We have the lowest weekly rates in the Finger Lakes. Word of mouth and one motel group annual membership dues are all I need. Please listen.” When all was said and done, when I told him there was no way I could commit to spending $700 for Google Ad Words in a single month, much less every month, I’ll always recall his last words to me: “I’m sorry,” he said in his smooth, trained accent that sounded like Ben Kingsley in his Oscar winning role as Gandhi, having to do call center duty. But just before concluding our phone call, I had to ask him about attracting views. What he said was disillusioning to me, cause the way he said this was so perfunctory and matter-of-factly. ”If you want 10,000 views. Ten-thousand dollars.” ”Wow.” I have heard of the 700 CLUB, but I never heard of that exact amount as being a minimum monthly amount to commit to YouTube video promoting. Yikes. Click. So much for creative people trying to get their projects seen. [Even that ^ real-life encounter with a Google rep did not gnaw away at me, like yesterday did upon my discovering that they recently removed search access to my biggest political eye-opener exposé ever. Really. I cannot help but feel disillusioned with Google.] My aim in sharing this is not to get into a heated debate about dissecting Hillary’s 2016 loss ad-nauseam, but… given that she lost to Obama in the 2008 primaries, I think that sharing this screenshot from before and after February 10, 2008 that illustrates to us the enormous mind-changing power that one well-written Open Letter to Hillary must have had on others. Thus, makes me feel that posting about this censorship travesty here and now, is indeed, wholly warranted. I was in several GMO Free groups, at the time, so I recall the impassioned, heated banter during this time. Esp., after others saw the clip from 2007 of Obama PROMISING to label genetically engineered foods, while in Iowa, on the campaign trail. See this screen shot. Before February 10, 2008, Hillary led Obama. After Feb. 10, 2008, he suddenly opened up a wide lead. The Open Letter in the Daily Kos came out on Feb. 10, 2008. I first came across it in a GMO Free group. Because I recall this time of my life with such lucidity because of the visceral impact on me at the time, I also recall the heated banter on Facebook with the HRC vs Obama supporters. One disingenuous ruse I saw more than once was whenever I brought up Hillary and Monsanto, some of her ardent, passion-based supporters, were fast reactors, like a programmed autobot would paste a link to Snopes, claiming that a Fact-Check was performed and “No, Hillary never served on Monsanto’s Board of Directors.” Huh? That is absurd. I never heard this. No one ever claimed this either. I thought it was common knowledge that Hillary served on Walmart’s Board of Directors, not Monsanto’s. But Snopes Fact-Checking an imaginary phantom claim was clearly disinformative, nonetheless. This deceitful strategy did damage to Bernie in 2016, as well. A final reminder why Monsanto is not a single issue is when you look at the number one problem in DC and politics today. Clarence Thomas, former Monsanto lawyer, confirmed by staunch MEDs: Bill Clinton and Dennis DeConcini, appointed by Mr. De-reg himself, George HW Bush. If the DNC can just throw one crumb to progressives for 2024, many of whom marched for the 90%, it should be to finally just throw Monsanto under the bus. Even if, as a symbolic gesture. Make Monsanto the sacrificial lamb. Just one. One crumb, to help woo the young food activists to commit to vote in 2024. Old ones too. Please. This would also serve as a de facto thumbs down to Clarence Thomas, the self-appointed King of the Supreme Court, that he is finally losing his power. He defends this Big Ag, factory food snake, like a lifelong meal ticket. GMO. Get Monsanto Out. It is time. If Tom Vilsack got replaced at the Dept. of Ag, before 2024, it might give ol’ Joe Biden a sorely needed boost; Respect from Both parties. Hey, a fella can dream, yes? I still feel traumatized. GOOGLE DELETED ALL TRACES OF MY FIRST EVER POLITICAL EYE-OPENER! Please vote in the poll below to show how you feel about the sudden removal of fact-based content from the Daily Kos in Google’s search engine. If the Daily Kos wants to remove content from their own website, of course that is their right. But for Google to remove it, lone their own, feels all too wrong. Unsettling. Could the DK sue Google for removing their content for no explanation? [Of course, it would be a bittersweet thought. One one hand, if they did sue, and win, Hillary a populist Dem would look bad, the very antithesis of what Daily Kos is all about. BUT… isn’t preserving our political archives and defending free speech more important that petty partisan posturing? Imagine, if Marianne Williamson’s 2015 Open Letter in the Huff Post was posted here instead, and later removed by Google. In my world, this would warrant a lawsuit, for putting her campaign at a distinct disadvantage. Most people want a level playing field. Esp., from the news media. That’s all. Wait! Just now, at 10:15 PM, Saturday Night, June 10, 2023, PRESTO! Like magic, FIXED! Maybe one of the three writers I wrote to, did or said something. BUT, here it is. My screenshots are proof that the screenshot below is a far cry from the cover screenshot from yesterday. Screenshots do not lie. If any of you are involved in social media, I still want to hear your take on this mystery Google search engine aberration. Okay, Google… I will be uber-vigilant, from here on in. Removing the best letter I ever read was not okay. Even if for one day. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/6/10/2174336/-Why-is-GOOGLE-Search-Suddenly-CENSORING-Fact-Based-Content-from-the-Daily-Kos Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/