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Critics see red flags as Google alternative DuckDuck Go announces big changes

March 10, 2022 | | Print Article

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DuckDuckGo, a non-establishment search engine that’s prided itself on offering an alternative to online users wary of the predations of establishment behemoths like Google, has decided to turn establishment, or so critics say.

In a largely ratioed Twitter thread posted late Wednesday, DuckDuckGo CEO and founder Gabriel Weinberg announced that he intends to join the establishment bandwagon and start censoring “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 At DuckDuckGo, we’ve been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation,” he wrote.

“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 concluded by stating that “DuckDuckGo’s mission is to make simple privacy protection accessible to all” and that “[p]rivacy is a human right and transcends politics, which is why about 100 million people around the world use DuckDuckGo.”

Look:

The announcement came as a slap in the face to those who’ve come to rely on DuckDuckGo as a search engine that doesn’t censor content based on the grievances of the ruling class elite.

Other search engines, most notably Google, have in recent years retooled their algorithms so that their search results favor the interests of the left-wing establishment.

It’s why, for instance, many BizPac Review and American Wire News stories cannot be found on Google but do (or at least used to) appear on DuckDuckGo.

It’s also why in 2017, Google added “fact-checks” to its search engine, despite said “fact-checkers” coming from disreputable left-wing organizations known for fudging the truth.

DuckDuckGo had offered an alternative where results were shown without any political bias, but those days are apparently now in the past, critics say:

But Weinberg doesn’t appear to be receptive to his critics. As the criticism began pouring in, he started quickly firing back with rebuttals.

Look:

Critics argue that sure, algorithms weigh factors — but they’re not supposed to weigh political/partisan factors. And the idea of “Russian disinformation” is indeed a very political factor.

For years Democrats and their media allies peddled “Russian disinformation” allegations against former President Donald Trump, all while accusing him of committing acts that he’d never actually done.

In the end, it turned out the Russian collusion delusion hoax and conspiracy theory was itself the epitome of “Russian disinformation.”

And furthermore, as noted by the critics below, the people responsible for the real disinformation were the same ones responsible for so many other lies, including the one about “weapons of mass destruction”:

DuckDuckGo’s move comes amid Pentagon-driven attempts by the left to silence anyone who talks about the U.S.-run biolabs in Ukraine.

Vivek Saxena
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