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Google News Initiative

newsinitiative.withgoogle.com

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Re: Google News Initiative

#51

Post by needToSay »

jacksmith21006 wrote: post #17
inetknght wrote: post #6

I used Google News for a long time. I have since blackholed it on all of my machines. By tailoring the news articles presented to be based on the interests that Google data mined from my Google profile, it became an echo chamber even worse than Facebook. It became a very bad source of news: all of the articles were self-reinforcing each other with very very little actual diversity of sources.

Could not disagree more. I am generally pretty liberal but get news stories from Breitbart, Fox news, etc all the time in my feed. I like to read all sides so love this aspect of Google news. Heck I get negative Google stories from Google. Can't ask for more neutral.

I have read Hacker News for over 4 years now. I had to make an account to make my first comment: I took a look at your profile history because someone else suggested it here and it's staggering. It's like the epitome of the "paid shill" meme. Please tell us why literally every comment you have given is about Google and how great their products are? It almost reads like PR statements. Are you paid to do it?

Re: Google News Initiative

#52

Post by skrowl »

inetknght wrote: post #6

I used Google News for a long time. I have since blackholed it on all of my machines. By tailoring the news articles presented to be based on the interests that Google data mined from my Google profile, it became an echo chamber even worse than Facebook. It became a very bad source of news: all of the articles were self-reinforcing each other with very very little actual diversity of sources.

I had a similar problem. After I stopped using gmail & google search (for privacy reasons) and started using Duck Duck Go, it almost seemed random in what news it was trying to feed me because it didn't have enough data. I messed with the little sliders, banned fake news sources like HuffPost/WashPost etc, but I couldn't get it to deliver a news feed I actually wanted to consume... so... I just gave up on it.

Finally went back to a combination of InnoReader.com (RSS from sites I know I want) and News360.com (more subject based, varying sources). No need for Google News anymore, particularly after all the news of their censorship and bias has become more and more public.

Re: Google News Initiative

#53

Post by SubiculumCode »

inetknght wrote: post #6

I used Google News for a long time. I have since blackholed it on all of my machines. By tailoring the news articles presented to be based on the interests that Google data mined from my Google profile, it became an echo chamber even worse than Facebook. It became a very bad source of news: all of the articles were self-reinforcing each other with very very little actual diversity of sources.

I agree...and more and more the same articles are being presented to me for days on end, maybe because they are a "match" to my interests.

But in fact my interest is have an unbiased/multi-biased news feed so I can properly survey the news-scape. It is how I can get a sense of the world,upcoming trends.I can choose, and quickly, based on text, whether an article is of probable interest. I do not want a bubble, and I do not want an algorithm deciding what is interesting to me. It is inefficient and false.

And don't get me started on AMP

Re: Google News Initiative

#54

Post by daodedickinson »

The SPLC is part of YouTube’s “Trusted Flaggers” program, yet Google News supports Farrakhan's The Final Call, even though the SPLC lists Nation of Islam as a hate group.

I won't link the rant about the Jews controlling the FBI, but check out this "news" brought to me courtesy of Google:

"Did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad know of the mathematics in the writings of the scriptures before Doctor Khalifa, and others, did? Not only did he, but he demonstrated that he was brought into the under­stand­ing of far deeper mathematical truths, which produced, correlated and in­terlocked all aspects of reality—including all of the problems of human­ity—by Almighty God Himself. He was taught the very root of all mathe­matics. This root is in the brain, or mind, of the human being. God taught and brought him into the very nature of the movement of the mind of Him, Who originally conceived of all of that which we call “universe” and Who produced the human mind. Allah taught him the root of math­ematics—which ultimately resides in the core of the mind of God Him­self."

https://news.google.com/news/search/section/q/%22There%20is%...

Re: Google News Initiative

#55

Post by arrythur »

inetknght wrote: post #6

I used Google News for a long time. I have since blackholed it on all of my machines. By tailoring the news articles presented to be based on the interests that Google data mined from my Google profile, it became an echo chamber even worse than Facebook. It became a very bad source of news: all of the articles were self-reinforcing each other with very very little actual diversity of sources.

I disagree with your sentiment about Google News. I think it does a great job of aggregating all the sources to a given headline. It even goes as far as labeling the sources as "Opinion pieces", "Highly Cited", or even "From ___" opposing entity sources (eg. From Saudi Arabia sources).

There is no easy answer to to display ONLY unbiased sources, because that would require an unbiased source to pull from. Which I don't believe exists. With Google News, responsibility falls on the reader to use the sources in front of them to formulate an educated opinion and gain an understanding of the story. If a reader chooses to only view either right-wing or leftist sources via Google News, then that's beyond Google's control.

Re: Google News Initiative

#56

Post by switch007 »

sterban wrote: post #28

I got fed up with Google News a year or so ago, over the echo chamber that the news site has become. It motivated me to create https://statesreport.com , with no ads and no tracking.

BTW, the CSS for 'p' has 'sans-serif-light' but I don't have that (or the others) on Chrome/Debian, which results in my default (which happens to be Serif).

Re: Google News Initiative

#57

Post by SubiculumCode »

fancyfacebook wrote: post #43
inetknght wrote: post #6

I used Google News for a long time. I have since blackholed it on all of my machines. By tailoring the news articles presented to be based on the interests that Google data mined from my Google profile, it became an echo chamber even worse than Facebook. It became a very bad source of news: all of the articles were self-reinforcing each other with very very little actual diversity of sources.

I think all of google search results are increasingly becoming more and more "filter bubbly" too, I have to anonymize completely or I know I'm just going to get bullshit results. This announcement is hilarious, their products harm journalism bigly. It's like McDonald's putting a nice little leaf drawing about the environment on their cups.

I use google to look up rules from a game pretty frequently. I find that for some pretty vague search terms it is giving the results I want, from the particular game I want, at the top of the search results. Aside from the significant privacy concerns, this is useful...until I try to search for something else...then my results get screwed.

Re: Google News Initiative

#58

Post by [deleted] »

AJRF wrote: post #46
jacksmith21006 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could not disagree more. I am generally pretty liberal but get news stories from Breitbart, Fox news, etc all the time in my feed. I like to read all sides so love this aspect of Google news. Heck I get negative Google stories from Google. Can't ask for more neutral.

Wow you really, REALLY like Google based on your comment history

[deleted]

Re: Google News Initiative

#59

Post by daturkel »

arrythur wrote: post #55
inetknght wrote: post #6

I used Google News for a long time. I have since blackholed it on all of my machines. By tailoring the news articles presented to be based on the interests that Google data mined from my Google profile, it became an echo chamber even worse than Facebook. It became a very bad source of news: all of the articles were self-reinforcing each other with very very little actual diversity of sources.

I disagree with your sentiment about Google News. I think it does a great job of aggregating all the sources to a given headline. It even goes as far as labeling the sources as "Opinion pieces", "Highly Cited", or even "From ___" opposing entity sources (eg. From Saudi Arabia sources). There is no easy answer to to display ONLY unbiased sources, because that would require an unbiased source to pull from. Which I don'…

We seem to be expecting technology to allow us to cast media literacy to the wind, but that's not going to happen. I don't happen to be a google news user, but it strikes me as providing the opportunity for the user to either remain in an echo chamber (for any given story, you can read the article from your outlet of choice, for example), or to diversify what you consume. Technology is one tool that people use to spread disinformation, propaganda, and bias, but it's just a tool. Similarly, technology is one way to fight it, but it's just one way—I think we could all use a reminder on how to be a savvy consumer of news media. Most people don't seem to appreciate the difference between an outlet covering a story versus breaking it, or how sourcing and citing work, the difference between opinion articles, analysis and reportage, and so on.

Re: Google News Initiative

#60

Post by aylmao »

sterban wrote: post #28

I got fed up with Google News a year or so ago, over the echo chamber that the news site has become. It motivated me to create https://statesreport.com , with no ads and no tracking.

Nice site! Big fan. Out of curiosity, are you monetizing it in any way? Expect increased traffic after this HN post? How are you making sure we don't empty your pockets?
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