In short, PNAS’s study was conducted by using US based participants to form opinions on Australia’s federal election. They did so by separating participants into three separate pools. Pro Abbott, Pro Gillard, and neutral, and then told to research the nominees.The variable in this study comes in the form of manipulated search engine algorithms programmed to rank search results for their respective pool higher than the others. In other words, participants in the pro Abbott group when researching would see positive Abbott articles first second and third before seeing any Gillard news regardless of their search query.
This experiment was conducted 3 times with slight variations but all reaching the same conclusion. That all candidate ratings in the bias groups shifted in the predicted direction of the whichever bias pool they were placed in. Ultimately showing that undecided/uneducated voters are supremely susceptible to the SEME phenomena. Agreeing and believing the information most highly ranked when researching.
Moving beyond the PNAS study, I would like to discuss how this manipulations larger social and political effects on society. In todays digital world of information it is more important than ever to retrieve news as well as outside opinions from a multitude of different sources. When factoring this manipulation effect into the equation it is very possible that we are moving closer and closer to an extreme echo chamber of thought and ideas. Possible as your data profile within googles algorithm continues to develop more and more of the same leanings, effectively cementing your point of view based on type, source, and quality of news you consume. While platforms such as google that contribute to this manipulation do not necessarily do so with malice intentions. But rather do so with the intent to push more ad revenue based on your past viewing habits forming these externalities.
Questions:
Do you agree with googles algorithm for ranking and manipulating search results?
What are the solutions to breaking these sorts of echo chambers?
Do other platforms use similar manipulations?
Citations:
https://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/E4512
https://aibrt.org/downloads/EPSTEIN_&_ROBERTSON_2015-The_Search_Engine_Manipulation_Effect-SEME-PNAS-w_SUPPLEMENTS.pdf
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015PNAS..112E4512E
Wow great post. I didn't know much about this topic nor the actual effects it can have on someones decisions until now and it is actually crazy. The search engine manipulation effect talked about must effect our daily lives without us even aware of it, and it is scary to think that this is the case when it comes to peoples thoughts, opinions, actions, and decisions they make on a day to day basis. I don't necessarily agree or disagree with googles algorithm for ranking and manipulating searches, because I am sure they are doing this to make things easier and quicker for people to find what they are looking for, but then again it seems to be so far advanced it could be too far manipulative. With the technology we have today I feel as if there may not be a way to truly stop something like this, so I feel as if people just need to be more aware of these types of things and be smarter when they are on the internet.
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