How Google plays along with Russian propaganda in the TOT: a study
Kyiv • UNN
Google's search algorithm may contribute to the promotion of Russian propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine, according to a study by the National Resistance Center.
When searching for information on Google in Russian, Ukrainian media resources prevail in Ukraine, and in the temporarily occupied Crimea, the logic and search results are almost similar to the Moscow location, according to the National Resistance Center, which conducted a study on the spread of Russian lies on Google, UNN reports.
Details
According to the CNS, Google's algorithm suggests that news readers in Crimea should watch propaganda media.
As for the search in Russian on Google in the TOT, the results for users, in particular, in Kherson region are different from those in Crimea and Russia.
Ukrainian news sites are already in the top ten. However, a group of Kremlin propaganda sites is offered a little lower in the search results.
According to Google's Keyword Planner, news searches are quite popular in the occupied cities of southern and eastern Ukraine (Berdiansk and Melitopol). At the same time, many users search for "news" in Ukrainian.
The best way to avoid Russian propaganda is not to use Russian in your browser and search, the CNS said.
However, Russian state propaganda dumps are much more highly indexed by Google in the TOT than in the free territories. That is, the search engine's algorithms either recognize the TOT as Russian Federation, or Google deliberately spreads hostile propaganda in the occupied territory
Therefore, the CNS called on Ukrainians in the TOT to enter requests exclusively in Ukrainian to reduce the risk of hazardous resources.
