How Google results could rig an election

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

How Google results could rig an election
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Rick Santorum has a Santorum problem, in that the top Google results when you search his name are not about the man himself, but rather about a dirty sexual neologism. The problem was so worrisome that Santorum even asked Google to nix those gross results so voters seeking information on his 2012 presidential campaign would find it instead of icky sex stuff.

So was his concern legit? Perhaps so, according to a study based on India's election that found search results can indeed sway voters.

The study showed 2,000 undecided voters search results about the election, with the links rigged to spotlight or suppress favorable information about particular candidates. The study's big finding: Participants showed an average 12.5 percent shift toward the candidates who received deliberately-glowing search traffic.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Now, that result should come with a couple of big caveats. Though the algorithms Google and others use aren't public, there is no indication search engines in the real world game their results to influence elections. And further, voters have access to far more sources of information than just search engines, so the role search results play in influencing opinion are likely not as dramatic as the study's controlled scenario would indicate.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.