- Confirmation OF bias
In addition to the undeniable left-wing bias in its so-called “Google’s Top Stories” box, try researching a story appearing in either the recent or long-ago past…one that many news outlets would have run.
We think you will find, that, if there is a possibility that each source might reflect its particular viewpoint…or even attempts to present the story as objectively as it’s possible to do, you will much more often than not that you will have to go through 5, 10, even 20 pages to get the story as reported by a reasonably objective outlet, much less a generally considered right-wing source. That is, if you find one at all.
Also interesting is the Daily Mail’s claim that the 20 media outlets surveyed in the “Google Top Stories” box were 62% left-leaning media sources.
But as you look for yourself through that list we think you’ll agree that maybe two or three (we are not that familiar with “The Verge” and it seems limited in scope) are not left leaning.
If one insists that Fox is right leaning (no mention as to what division they are referring to which makes such a conclusion arguable) and perhaps The Hill might be considered center right then the percentage is arguably 10% (two) not left-leaning and the rest (90%) with the possible exception of The Verge are left leaning.
LESSON: If you want to be a researcher for conservative news and opinion media…find another line of work unless you have a lot of patience and an extraordinary tolerance for frustration. DLH
Story by Jennifer Smith — excerpts from story below chart created by Northwestern University journalism researchers.
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Google’s left-leaning media bias revealed:
How CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were promoted over their right-wing counterparts by the search engine which has more power than ever over what readers see
- Stories from only 20 media outlets were featured in Google’s Top Stories box in November 2017
- 62 percent of those outlets were considered to be left-leaning media sources
- CNN accounted for 10 percent of the news promoted, The New York Times made up 6.5 percent and The Washington Post accounted for 5.6 percent
- By contrast, Fox stories made up only three percent of the 6,302 articles
- Google uses an algorithm to decide what goes in its Top Stories box
- It is based largely on the popularity of a topic or of a viewpoint
- The search engine has denied that it deliberately promotes left-leaning sites
- It now has unprecedented power over what is promoted and how much traffic it sends to sites given Facebook’s recent scale back on news
. . .
Google’s left-leaning media bias revealed: How CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were promoted over their right-wing counterparts by the search engine which has more power than ever over what readers see
Stories from only 20 media outlets were featured in Google’s Top Stories box in November 2017
62 percent of those outlets were considered to be left-leaning media sources
CNN accounted for 10 percent of the news promoted, The New York Times made up 6.5 percent and The Washington Post accounted for 5.6 percent
By contrast, Fox stories made up only three percent of the 6,302 articles
Google uses an algorithm to decide what goes in its Top Stories box
It is based largely on the popularity of a topic or of a viewpoint
The search engine has denied that it deliberately promotes left-leaning sites
It now has unprecedented power over what is promoted and how much traffic it sends to sites given Facebook’s recent scale back on news . . .
Google’s bias towards left-wing media outlets has been laid bare by an algorithm which detected that it favors sites including CNN and The New York Times over others.
According to data compiled by researchers from Northwestern University, the search engine promoted those sites over others repeatedly in November 2017.
Of the 6,302 articles that appeared in Google’s ‘top stories’ page that month after a term was searched, more than 10 percent were by CNN.
The New York Times was the second most favored and accounted for 6.5 percent of articles. The Washington Post was third with 5.6 percent.
By contrast, Fox News, the most right-wing outlet in mainstream media, was the source of just three percent of the stories which appeared.
Nearly all (86 percent) of the stories came from just 20 sources and of them, 62 percent were considered to be left-leaning.
