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DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

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Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#71

Post by hackyhacky »

fuckcensorship wrote: post #63
tpoacher wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want one which doesn't decide this for me, no-matter how "good for me" it may be, and relies exclusively on my search query to decide what is most relevant. If you really want to flag disinformation, I'd be fine with some sort percentage reliability value or something along those lines, right next to the result. Preferably something that I can also order results by. Totally happy with a 'caveat emptor' clause regar…

> Besides, what's so bad about access to "disinformation"? This is an excellent point that doesn’t get as much discussion as it deserves. Censorship of misinformation seems to be rooted in the idea that the masses cannot/should not have the freedom to think and discuss information freely. Also, there is a great deal of valuable insight which can be gained by analyzing a country’s propaganda.

There is great value in analyzing propaganda if you know it's propaganda. The danger comes in the fact that the majority of people can't distinguish actual reporting from disinformation. That's why it gets down-ranked.

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#72

Post by avgcorrection »

enragedcacti wrote: post #51
freediver wrote: post #22

I guess this did not age well: “[W]hen you search, you expect unbiased results, but that’s not what you get on Google,” @matthewde_silva quotes @yegg https://twitter.com/DuckDuckGo/status/1114524914227253249 Also, they probably do not realize that they will have to start with Twitter if to be consistent.

I really don't understand this view point. Isn't a search engine's entire job to effectively 'censor' the parts of the internet that aren't relevant or helpful to your search query? Is it censorship for them to downrank flat-earth content when you are trying to learn about how to chart a flight? Flat-earthers certainly have a lot of ideas about how charting a course on a flat earth works but that doesn't mean it's he…

If I am interested in Flat Earth Theory and search for that then I expect to get results that Flat Earth believers are interested in. It’s that simple.

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#73

Post by ajsnigrutin »

uejfiweun wrote: post #3

I like DDG, but honestly, this is a really bad move. It is already harder for me to find certain sites in the rankings. I mean look at this, even searching for "drudge" doesn't even bring up a link to Drudge Report: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=drudge&t=h_&ia=web I liked DDG because it respected the user. Limiting what I can see in order to make sure I don't see "Russian disinformation" seems to me like the exact opposi…

Yep, search is getting more and more broken...

I remember all the "trump vs reporters" etc. compilations, that were funny... now searching for any of those terms (basically anything at all involving trump, or now russia) ignores almost everything in the searchbox, ignores all the small creators, just picks out the one keyword (trump/russia/putin/...), and show the CNN/MSNBC/... news related to that one term, and unrelated to other search terms in the search box.

We wan't search and "sort by relevant", not by "who we think is right".

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#74

Post by jcadam »

CyanBird wrote: post #67
livinglist wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but what are the alternatives?

Kagi They are in beta right now, If memory serves they will charge around 200usd/year I will be happy paying that to avoid all that other free search engine bullshit, such as this perfect example of ddg destroying their own ethos for.... I am not even sure what they are getting in return for this

ESG points. Prepping for an exit?

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#75

Post by noyeastguy »

I support this as an avid DDG user. Russian disinformation is a new kind of warfare that we've not inoculated ourselves against yet. This is a step in that direction. “in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.”

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#76

Post by throwmeariver1 »

ricardo81 wrote: post #52
throwmeariver1 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The internet is probably the biggest threat democracy has ever faced. I am ok with your romantic point of view of the informed masses but it’s a fallacy that in the end will cost us all our future. Because these people live and engage in extreme bubbles they get sucked into no matter if it’s left or right. I can only urge everyone who is for total tolerance to read K. Poppers the “Open Society and it’s Enemies” quite…

Not quite sure I'm following. The "romantic point of view of the informed masses but it’s a fallacy" may apply to push techs like social media feeds more than search engines. There aren't that many universal truths when it comes to political situations. Asking a search engine what time of day it is in Tokyo, the GDP or Ghana or whatever is entirely more objective. I would say the onus is on people to understand sourc…

No post body was provided.

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#77

Post by mattwilsonn888 »

axiosgunnar wrote: post #64
TehShrike wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. If I'm searching for Russian propaganda, I should see Russian propaganda in my search results. If I'm searching for good bicycle reviews, I should see good bicycle reviews.

What should be shown if you search for „why did russia invade ukraine“?

Whatever your Native State wants you to believe, of course.

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#78

Post by gambler »

You know, I am beginning to see that all that talk about mass psychosis caused by social isolation due to Covid and lockdowns was onto something. It explains a lot of what is happening right now. People are hyper-focused on only one thing and pay zero attention to long-term and larger-context consequences of their actions. And proud of it.

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#79

Post by enragedcacti »

mrjangles wrote: post #20

Seriously what the f*ck makes Gabriel Weinberg think that myself, or anyone else, gives a damn about his personal opinion on what I should and should not be reading. The arrogance of these people is astounding. Also, absolutely zero of the standard base of Duck Duck Go users are the kind of people who don't understand what a Russian state controlled news site is, and why one would have to be careful reading it. Those…

> Also, absolutely zero of the standard base of Duck Duck Go users are the kind of people who don't understand what a Russian state controlled news site is

DDG advertises on billboards, on the radio, on TV, etc. They are absolutely trying to attract an audience who doesn't all know what RT or Sputnik are.

Re: DuckDuckGo “down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation”

#80

Post by CWuestefeld »

enragedcacti wrote: post #51
freediver wrote: post #22

I guess this did not age well: “[W]hen you search, you expect unbiased results, but that’s not what you get on Google,” @matthewde_silva quotes @yegg https://twitter.com/DuckDuckGo/status/1114524914227253249 Also, they probably do not realize that they will have to start with Twitter if to be consistent.

I really don't understand this view point. Isn't a search engine's entire job to effectively 'censor' the parts of the internet that aren't relevant or helpful to your search query? Is it censorship for them to downrank flat-earth content when you are trying to learn about how to chart a flight? Flat-earthers certainly have a lot of ideas about how charting a course on a flat earth works but that doesn't mean it's he…

The announcement makes me suspect that it's down-ranking results not for what they are, but who it's from. That is, penalizing results based on their being from a disfavored source.
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