{"id":4385,"date":"2019-11-25T12:24:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T10:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/?p=4385"},"modified":"2019-11-29T17:39:51","modified_gmt":"2019-11-29T15:39:51","slug":"the-top-5-things-wrong-in-the-wsj-expose-of-google","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/the-top-5-things-wrong-in-the-wsj-expose-of-google\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 5 Things Wrong in the WSJ \u2018Expose\u2019 of Google"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Search engines are among the most important and most mysterious pieces of online infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their role (complex as it is) is to bring some semblance of order to the otherwise chaotic, unimaginably large and constantly shifting corpus of information that is the web, so that when you or I are looking for something online, we can find it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exact process and factors that search engines use to accomplish that monumental task are shrouded in secrecy, protected by thousands of patents, and may well be unknowable<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this combination \u2013 the pervasiveness and centrality of search engines to our daily lives mixed with the mystery in how they operate \u2013 has fueled feelings of confusion and distrust, not to mention more than a few conspiracy theories (many of which, thankfully, have been debunked).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, there are real and legitimate concerns about how \u201cbig tech\u201d in general \u2013 and search engines like Google specifically \u2013 wield their vast power to shape our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are legitimate criticisms that many in the SEO<\/a> industry have leveled at Google, ranging from their proclivity to take content from publishers to their data collection practices and their apparent penchant for favoring their own products\/services, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No organization is perfect, and Google<\/a> is no exception. But none of that justifies the use of shoddy, agenda-driven journalism to propagate a false narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Wall Street Journal has done by embracing many discredited conspiracy theories to weave a baseless narrative that the world\u2019s largest search engine, Google, abuses its power for its own nefarious purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their story (you can read the non-paywalled version here<\/a>) belongs in the cheap fiction section at the airport, not on the cover of one of the country\u2019s most esteemed news outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what follows, I\u2019d like to rebut five of the most egregious errors found within the WSJ article; this is certainly not a complete list, but if you\u2019re curious, I did cover all 34 errors here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with that, let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debunking 5 of the Most Egregious Myths from the WSJ\u2019s Piece on Google<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Myth 1: <\/strong>\u2018Google made algorithmic changes to its search results that favor big businesses over smaller ones.\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a dangerous accusation that unfairly calls into question the credibility of both Google and the entire search community. It\u2019s a textbook example of the correlation-causation fallacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, to put it bluntly, there is no evidence offered in the article that Google modifies its algorithm to favor larger companies over smaller ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, (and to its credit) Google has been fairly transparent over the years about what it takes to rank well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n