I was recently reading the comments on a post related to COVID-19, and saw an answer I would classify as misinformation, which borders on conspiracy. I can’t help but ask the commenter for proof.
His response came with some web links and “do your own research”. Then I asked about his research method, which turned out to be a search for specific words on Google.
As an academic, I was curious. The aim of academic research is to establish the truth of a phenomenon on the basis of evidence, analysis, and peer review,
On the other hand, a search on Google provides links to content written by known or unknown authors, who may or may not have knowledge in that area, based on a ranking system that either follows user preferences, or Collective popularity of some sites.
In other words, Google’s algorithms may penalize the truth for not being popular.
Google Search’s ranking system takes a fraction of a second to sort through hundreds of billions of web pages, and index them to find the most relevant and (ideally) useful information.
Somewhere along the way, mistakes happen. And it will take some time for these algorithms to become foolproof – if ever. Until then, what can you do to make sure you’re not getting the short end of the stick?
One question, millions of answers
There are about 201 known factors on which a website is analyzed and ranked by Google’s algorithms. Some of the main ones are:
- Specific key words used in search
- meaning of key words
- Web page relevance, as assessed by a ranking algorithm
- “Quality” of Content
- web page utility
- and user-specific factors such as their location and profile data taken from connected Google products, including Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps.
Research has shown that users pay more attention to higher-ranked results on the first page. And there are known ways to ensure that a website comes on the first page.
One of these is “search engine optimization,” which can help a web page float in the top results, even if its content isn’t quality.
The second issue is that Google search results are different for different people, sometimes even if they have the same search query.
The results are tailored to the user doing the search. Eli Pariser in his book The Filter Bubble has pointed out the dangers of this especially when the topic is of a controversial nature.
Personalized search results create alternate versions of the flow of information. Users get more of what they are already connected with (what they probably already believe).
This leads to a dangerous cycle that can further polarize people’s views, and in which more exploration does not necessarily mean closer to the truth.
work in progress
While Google Search is a great search engine, it is also a work in progress. Google is continuously addressing various issues related to its performance.
A major challenge concerns social prejudices related to race and gender. For example, a Google Images search for “truck driver” or “president” returns mostly images of men, while “model” and “teacher” return images of mostly women.
Whereas the results may reflect what is historically has been true (as in the case of male presidents), it is not always as it is in present Truth – Let alone the representative of the world we want to live in.
A few years ago, Google reportedly had to block its image recognition algorithms from identifying “gorillas” after they began classifying images of black people with the term.
Another issue highlighted by health practitioners concerns people self-diagnosing based on symptoms. It is estimated that around 40% of Australians search for self-diagnosis online, and around 70,000 health-related searches are performed on Google every minute.
There could be dire consequences for those who misinterpret information found through “Dr Google” – not to mention what that means amid the pandemic.
Google has given a plethora of COVID misinformation related to unregistered drugs, fake cures, mask effectiveness, contact tracing, lockdown and of course, vaccines.
According to one study, during the first few months of the pandemic, an estimated 6,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths were due to misinformation (specifically the false claim that drinking methanol can cure COVID).
To combat this, Google eventually prioritized authoritative sources in its search results. But Google can only do so much.
Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that we are given a serious thought about the information we receive. What can you do to make sure you’re asking the best questions to Google for the answers you need?
Read more: What’s wrong with Google? Increased advertising and algorithmic changes can make it harder to find what you’re looking for
How to make Google smart
In short, a Google search user should be aware of the following facts:
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A Google search will bring you the top-ranked web pages that are also most relevant to your search terms. Your results will be only as good as your terms, so always consider the context and how the inclusion of certain terms may affect the results.
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It is better to start with a simple search and add more descriptive terms later. For example, which of the following do you think is the more effective question: “Will Hydroxychloroquine help cure my COVID?” or “What is hydroxychloroquine used for?,
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Quality content comes from verified (or verifiable) sources. When scrutinizing the results, look at different URLs and think about whether that source has more authority (for example, is it a government website?). Once you’re on the page, continue the process. , Always check the author’s credentials and information sources.
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Google may personalize your results based on your past search history, current location, and interests (obtained through other products such as Gmail, YouTube or Maps). You can use Incognito Mode to prevent these factors from affecting your search results.
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Google search isn’t the only option. And you don’t have to leave your reading to the discretion of its algorithm. There are many other search engines available, including Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia. Sometimes it’s good to triangulate your results from outside the filter bubble.
Read more: Australia’s competition watchdog says Google has a monopoly on online advertising but how does it work?
