Source: CHRIS MENAHAN, INFORMATION LIBERATION
DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg on Wednesday announced the rollout of a new Google-style censorship scheme to down-rank websites he says are “associated with Russian disinformation.”
“Like so many others I am sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create. #StandWithUkraine️,” Weinberg tweeted. “At DuckDuckGo, we’ve been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation.”
“In addition to down-ranking sites associated with disinformation, we also often place news modules and information boxes at the top of DuckDuckGo search results (where they are seen and clicked the most) to highlight quality information for rapidly unfolding topics,” he continued.
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Like so many others I am sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create. #StandWithUkraine️
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
At DuckDuckGo, we've been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation.
In addition to down-ranking sites associated with disinformation, we also often place news modules and information boxes at the top of DuckDuckGo search results (where they are seen and clicked the most) to highlight quality information for rapidly unfolding topics.
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
DuckDuckGo's mission is to make simple privacy protection accessible to all. Privacy is a human right and transcends politics, which is why about 100 million people around the world use DuckDuckGo. (We don't have an exact count since we don't track people.)
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
The whole point of DuckDuckGo is for you to NOT do that
— Jason Hayward (@JasonHayward87) March 10, 2022
So you are censoring your users? DDG now decides what is or isn't misinformation? This decision should be left to the user
— Aindreas (@andrewwbharvey) March 10, 2022
I get it but I thought the point of DuckDuckGo was to present search results "as is". Not your role to play thought police.
— Gimli (@GIMLIS0N0FGL0IN) March 10, 2022
The only quality search engine which doesn’t censor content based off political views now is Russia’s Yandex (at least if you’re outside Russia).
Weinberg evidently paused ties with Yandex a week or so ago:
Is DDG finally going to stop using russian Yandex search engine which is yet another government's propaganda tool?
— 🇺🇦 пан Марк (@mmatviyiv) March 10, 2022
DuckDuckGo’s search results have gone to s**t over the past two years because they mostly just index Bing results (the two companies have a deal together).
Microsoft announced in late February that they’re going to manually demote RT and Sputnik in Bing search results, ban their apps from the Microsoft Store and ban them from advertising on their network.
Whether Weinberg is taking some “principled” stand against “Russian disinfo” or just following Microsoft’s lead because his site is mostly just a Bing scraper is not clear.
Weinberg told the New York Times last month that his company is now operating as a snitch for Bing.
Last year, the popular Twitter account Libs Of TikTok posted emails purportedly from DuckDuckGo said to demonstrate that the company discriminates against white men.
The Gateway Pundit reported that they reached out to DuckDuckGo for comment on the allegations but they did not respond. Libs Of TikTok got suspended from Twitter temporarily just for posting the screenshots.
Weinberg had no issue with going on RT in 2015 to promote his website.
So, the CEO of Duck Duck Go has joined the league of censoring nitwits who hate the first amendment. Why has this man decided to become a ridiculous jackass? O, and by the way, goodbye duck duck go! Or, is it duck duck blows!
So, who’s deciding what is ‘disinformation’?? Oh. I see.
But what business is it of theirs anyway, what people post, as long as it is not porn or incitement to violent acts?? They don’t have access to knowledge of what is ‘disinfo’. Same as with the kill shots. It’s all politics. They should not be in the business of propaganda. They were supposed to be an ALTERNATIVE to propaganda, for heaven’s sake.