Article Image

IPFS News Link • Technology: Software

Google's search algorithms could alter Presidential elections

• http://www.redorbit.com, by Chuck Bednar

The phenomenon is known as "search engine manipulation effect" (SEME), and authors Robert Epstein and Ronald E. Robertson suggest that biased results from websites like Google or Yahoo could shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by more than 20 percent.

Their findings, which have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are the result of five experiments conducted in two different countries. They found that for some key demographics, the shift can be much higher (as much as 80 percent), and that these rankings can be hidden to keep voters from knowing that they are being manipulated.

By knowing the proportion of undecided voters with access to the Web, and the percentage of voters susceptible to SEMS influence, Epstein and Robertson argue that it is possible to determine the win margin below which this phenomenon could determine the result of an election. The outcome of a close election could be changed by search algorithms.


ppmsilvercosmetics.com/ERNEST/