posted 06-29-2004 09:10 PM
I did not want this article to get buried in the F911 movie review thread. This piece claims that regardless of the combination of words you type into a Google search engine in relation to Michael Moore’s film (Fahrenheit 911), negative articles monopolize the top spots! What a Google scam! Talk about manipulation! This piece makes some good points!
http://www.michael-moore-review.com/
The Google Whip
An investigative look into manipulating public perception.
Michael Moore – Fahrenheit 9/11 Released
Like millions of other movie goers, I woke up this morning wondering how other people viewed the Michael Moore offering Fahrenheit 9/11. It wasn’t long before I found myself surfing the Internet, engaged in the new American pastime of “Googling” search phrases to find the maze of alternative views that make our country so great.
Casually sorting through the first page search results of Google, I quickly found myself noticing a disturbing trend that made little sense: an astonishing lack of sites in top rankings that expressed positive (or even neutral) view points on the Moore film.
After all, I was one of several hundred that patiently waited to get into our local movie theater the night before. I remember my awe as public interest and overall support quickly pushed our cinema to maximum capacity. I saw the tears and the laughter, the shock and the anger. And I’ll never forget the applause in unison that just for a second made us all feel like a new level of political accountability was coming our way.
This picture being painted today by my favorite search engine Google, however, greatly conflicted with the reality I thought I had experienced. The search results I was seeing looked more like Google had somehow morphed into a special “propaganda” division, focused on bringing the best of political counter measures against all of Michael’s key messages to the forefront of US readership.
Was it just me? Was I letting the Moorian theme of conspiracy, political corruption and special interest agendas get the best of me? Where were the millions of Moore fans that rallied in droves at every opportunity to express their own points of view?
So why were the top rankings in Google telling me that without a shadow-of-a-doubt that Michael Moore was a liar? It wasn’t like one or two searches brought back semi-seeded, half intelligent opinions. It was more like someone had identified all the ways people would search for the film, then ensured the most negative and manipulative counter points were placed cleverly at the top - accompanied by many other anti-Moore sentiments strategically scattered for maximum effect.
More Than Meets the Eye
For my own patriotic contribution to righteousness, I decided to try and do my small part in furthering peace, equal opportunity, and the exposure of yet another potential “bad guy” bent on our social demise for their own capitalistic purposes.
As a professional copywriter with so-so web design skills, search engine 101 was a mandatory course for my line of employment, and the basic operation of search engines and the way they work was required learning.
To give you a short introduction, Google utilizes two forms of indexing their search results, designed to keep their business interests separated from the “ethical integrity” of their main listings people use for research.
While the sponsorship section (located on the right side) is always based on who will bid the most money for the highest ranking, their main index (the main body of search results) is calculated by a computer program that automatically serves up sites with the highest relevance to your search. The system is all run through complex algorithms on auto-pilot due to the vast number of pages constantly being indexed and maintained.
So in short, if you were to search for the phrase review of Michael Moore movie, you should be presented with a list of relevant sites that are most likely to contain the necessary subject matter of interest to you. This list would be auto sorted by a computer program, cross checked for accuracy based on subject matter, and presented to you in order of likely relevance.
The Conspiracy Bandwagon?
Why then does Google’s main index consistently return specific sites in the #1 position that are most damaging to Michael Moore’s movie for literally dozens of search phrases?
Why does search phrase after search phrase bring back the same manipulative messages that Fahrenheit 9/11 bears absolutely no resemblance to reality? That Michael Moore is a liar and hates America?
Taking this question to several search engine experts and marketing firms generated some very interesting professional opinions.
“The chances of these sites ranking so consistently high goes beyond logical probability”, stated one industry professional. “It counters the very nature by which Google utilizes to sort and present all the data within the Google database”.
“Should be pretty obvious that Google feels at some executive level that they have a personal stake in a Bush reelection”, reflected another search engine strategist. “It looks to me like Google is actively leveraging their enormous market share to help provide “damage control” to the Bush administration.”
Regardless of who pushed the button, it is our opinion that this type of information control constitutes an incredible abuse of power. At no point did sixty million Google users ever give their permission to have their favorite search engine edit rankings in an attempt to shape view points on such an important issue.
In doing our part, we have started archiving examples of Google results in response to search requests related to Michael Moore. We would also love to hear your theories on why Google might have manually manipulated search results to negatively influence the general public.
Bearing Testament - Google Loves Michael Moore
Did you happen to search for independent reviews of the Fahrenheit 9/11 movie on the Google Search Engine at www.google.com?
Our first search used the phrase: Fahrenheit 9/11 reviews
The search brought back the fantastic title of “Unfairenheit 9/11 – The lies of Michael Moore” firmly planted at number one for all to see, as well as many other negative perceptions scattered throughout the first twenty results. Ironically “fairenheit” isn’t even spelled the same way as our search phrase - yet another inconsistency that should have made ranking this site number one impossible.
Doesn't take much reading of the article (located at http://slate.msn.com/id/2102723/) to get the idea that someone was working overtime to counter any positive momentum that Michael’s movie is gaining. Editor's Note: We wish other important subjects such as inequality, child starvation and lack of affordable health care could warrant this level of talent for an overnight response.
No big deal right? After all, what’s one phrase on a search engine?
By itself, maybe nothing. Until of course we discovered that literally dozens of other search phrases on Google also sported Christopher Hitchins’ extremely biased article in the number one spot. Some of these other phrases happened to include Michael Moore reviews, review of Michael Moore movie, review of Moore movie, review of Fahrenheit film, review of Fahrenheit 911, new Michael Moore movie, etc.
The Google Whip
An investigative look into manipulating public perception.
Michael Moore – Fahrenheit 9/11 Released
Like millions of other movie goers, I woke up this morning wondering how other people viewed the Michael Moore offering Fahrenheit 9/11. It wasn’t long before I found myself surfing the Internet, engaged in the new American pastime of “Googling” search phrases to find the maze of alternative views that make our country so great.
Casually sorting through the first page search results of Google, I quickly found myself noticing a disturbing trend that made little sense: an astonishing lack of sites in top rankings that expressed positive (or even neutral) view points on the Moore film.
After all, I was one of several hundred that patiently waited to get into our local movie theater the night before. I remember my awe as public interest and overall support quickly pushed our cinema to maximum capacity. I saw the tears and the laughter, the shock and the anger. And I’ll never forget the applause in unison that just for a second made us all feel like a new level of political accountability was coming our way.
This picture being painted today by my favorite search engine Google, however, greatly conflicted with the reality I thought I had experienced. The search results I was seeing looked more like Google had somehow morphed into a special “propaganda” division, focused on bringing the best of political counter measures against all of Michael’s key messages to the forefront of US readership.
Was it just me? Was I letting the Moorian theme of conspiracy, political corruption and special interest agendas get the best of me? Where were the millions of Moore fans that rallied in droves at every opportunity to express their own points of view?
So why were the top rankings in Google telling me that without a shadow-of-a-doubt that Michael Moore was a liar? It wasn’t like one or two searches brought back semi-seeded, half intelligent opinions. It was more like someone had identified all the ways people would search for the film, then ensured the most negative and manipulative counter points were placed cleverly at the top - accompanied by many other anti-Moore sentiments strategically scattered for maximum effect.
See for yourself. We’ve included some snapshots in case the listings change due to our help in exposing the biased results. Click on the thumbnails to view the screen shots:
(JerseyBluEyz: go to article for thumbnails)
So what was the verdict of several experienced ranking experts that we talked to?
Clearly that these number one listings defy the very nature of Google’s indexing technology, and that in their opinion, someone had to manually manipulate the rankings in favor of their own position against Michael Moore’s movie.
We would love to hear your feedback and theories as to why Google would possibly condone such actions. Put on your Michael Moore investigative hat, and see what you can turn up! We’ll publish your findings in a special Part II of this article, and give it to Michael himself for action.
After all, Mike don’t play. :-)
Since our original postings, other supporters in favor of ethical search engine representation and freedom of speech have come forward and submitted additional examples for our perusal. We will continue to update this site as we verify new examples that are submitted to us. Thanks for being a part of our efforts!
This Google example seems to go well beyond just a basic manipulation of rankings. It would seem that editing even the descriptions themselves is also subject for much debate. Could it really be possible that each and every one of these negative listings managed to capture the ultimate negative expression without any human intervention, while any positive reviews were void of feeling, description or support for Michael? Our verdict: not hardly.
(JerseyBluEyz: go to article for image)
Michael Moore Hates America!
Two very popular search phrases Michael Moore movie and Michael Moore film both insert the idea that Michael hates America in the number one slots at www.google.com. Industry experts are at a loss why the site at http://www.michaelmoorehatesamerica.com/ could ever hope to keyword rank in the top one hundred, let alone the prime number one.
Whether or not you agree with all Michael has to say, we’ve noticed a trend whereby anyone who bucks the system is automatically called “unpatriotic”. America needs free thinking people who have different ideas on how things run.
Dissension is not unpatriotic. It is the fundamental basis by which our great country was founded. Have we really reached the point where special interests have bought and sold democracy so many times over that our elected officials are beyond reproach for even discussing the idea of accountability?
History has repeatedly taught us that those with the power will abuse it. In the case of our own nation, it would seem that the main prerequisite for presidency is to carry so much excess baggage through prior debts, owed favors, outside obligations, special interest groups, and campaign donations, that qualification for candidacy is simultaneously a reason for instant disqualification.
(JerseyBluEyz: go to article for images)
Is This The Google Bomb?
Wow! Someone just flipped the switch and a nation responds! Thanks for all the great feedback and support. Keep the emails coming, as we love hearing from you. :-)
One point we wanted to address is that a few of you feel that these rankings could be the work of a “Google Bomb”, a process where individuals are encouraged to put a special type of link on their site. When hundreds do this simultaneously, it can quickly catapult a website into high rankings for a specific search phrase.
You can see an example of this yourself by visiting one website that encourages this type of activity. Detailing exactly how to create a Google Bomb, this was obviously built by a true American patriot that believes in our right to insist on political accountability.
http://www.glennbeck.com/news/01112004.shtml
(JerseyBluEyz: I posted this GlenBeck article below)
You’ll see from his instructions that creating a Google Bomb is very easy… and also very visible and easy to track. In the case of this young genius, a simple search that includes part of his suggested code will show you the 120 websites that joined his cause.
To see what we mean, search Google for the following phrase (with parenthesis):
“www.michaelmoore.com/" title="Miserable Failure”
Now try to imagine what it would take to use this form of ranking manipulator on every combination of every phrase we pointed out across six hundred websites within eighteen hours of Slate’s article being released.
Even if you could pull it off, we’re still missing one key ingredient. The existence of hundreds of websites that actually have the necessary coding embedded within their site. Matter of fact, try finding even three set up this way that allow for the alt tag “review of Michael Moore movie” to Google Bomb the anti-Moore sites into top position.
They certainly didn’t help write Google's biased description slants we highlighted earlier in this thread.
Where Do You Stand?
While the emphasis of our reporting has centered on responsible use of major media outlets that impact humanity, we thought this message concerning Fahrenheit 9/11 was very important – regardless of where you stand.
“In all of the political posturing that accompanies the Michael Moore film, let us pray that one important message is not lost…that those with the least are most likely to be asked to serve the cause of the masses first. Let us not ever forget those who through the poverty of their inheritance are not afforded the luxury of choice.” - The Unknown Soldier
Please direct any comments or contributions you to input@michael-moore-review.com.
[Edited 3 times, lastly by JerseyBluEyz on 06-29-2004]
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