Research
Google autocomplete helps mislead public, legitimize conspiracy theorists: 911吃瓜 study
Google algorithms place innocuous subtitles on prominent conspiracy theorists, which mislead the public and amplify extremist views, according to 911吃瓜 researchers.
Someone like Gavin McInnes, creator of the neo-fascist Proud Boys organization 鈥� a terrorist entity in Canada and a hate group in the United States 鈥� isn鈥檛 best known simply as a 鈥淐anadian writer鈥� but that鈥檚 the first thing the search engine鈥檚 autocomplete subtitle displays in the field when someone types in his name.
In a in M/C Journal this month, researchers with at the School of Communication at 911吃瓜 looked at the subtitles Google automatically suggested for 37 known conspiracy theorists and found that, 鈥渋n all cases, Google鈥檚 subtitle was never consistent with the actor鈥檚 conspiratorial behaviour.鈥�
That means that influential Sandy Hook school shooting denier and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is listed as 鈥淎merican radio host鈥� and Jerad Miller, a white nationalist responsible for a 2014 Las Vegas shooting, is listed as an 鈥淎merican performer鈥� even though the majority of subsequent search results reveal him to be the perpetrator of a mass shooting.
Given the heavy reliance of Internet users on Google鈥檚 search engine, the subtitles 鈥渃an pose a threat by normalizing individuals who spread conspiracy theories, sow dissension and distrust in institutions and cause harm to minority groups and vulnerable individuals,鈥� says Nicole Stewart, a communication instructor of communication and PhD student on The Disinformation Project.
According to Google, the subtitles generate automatically by complex algorithms and the engine cannot accept or create custom subtitles.
The researchers found that the labels are either neutral or positive 鈥� primarily reflecting the person鈥檚 preferred description or job 鈥� but never negative.
鈥淯sers鈥� preferences and understanding of information can be manipulated upon their trust in Google search results, thus allowing these labels to be widely accepted instead of providing a full picture of the harm their ideologies and belief cause,鈥� says Nathan Worku, a Master鈥檚 student on The Disinformation Project.
While the study focused on conspiracy theorists, the same phenomenon happens when searching widely recognized terrorists and mass murders, according to the authors.
鈥淭his study highlights the urgent need for Google to review the subtitles attributed to conspiracy theorists, terrorists, and mass murderers, to better inform the public about the negative nature of these actors, rather than always labelling them in neutral or positive ways.
Led by assistant professor Ahmed Al-Rawi, The Disinformation Project is a federally-funded research project that examines fake news discourses on Canadian news media and social media.
Al-Rawi, Stewart, Worku and post-doctoral fellow Carmen Celestini were all authors of this latest study.