Colin Madine: Readers Can Influence Google’s Actions Despite Ongoing Censorship

Concerns Over Google’s Impact on Conservative Media

Colin Madine, technology editor at Breitbart News, discussed the significant influence Google has on suppressing right-leaning content through its news selection and search visibility during a recent segment of Breitbart News Daily. Despite ongoing censorship from major tech companies, there is a new tool available to help counter this trend.

Madine referenced a nonpartisan study conducted by AllSides that examined major news aggregators, including Apple News and Google. The results highlighted noticeable disparities in the representation of left- and right-leaning narratives.

“When people use Google, especially the News tab or their apps, they believe they’re accessing diverse viewpoints. However, the Google News section predominantly features 73 percent left-leaning articles,” Madine pointed out, adding that only about 1 percent of the stories lean right. This observation aligns with findings from the Media Research Center, which reported similar proportions from conservative outlets.

Even when right-leaning articles do appear, they are often filtered through select outlets like Fox News. Madine remarked that many of these stories are not serious news but rather lighter content, noting, “For instance, there might be stories about Sidney Sweeney or the Australian Open, which aren’t really substantial political coverage.” He elaborated on how Google curates and limits the news that users receive.

Madine also highlighted concerns about Google’s treatment of conservative media post-2020 election. He mentioned that Breitbart News and similar outlets saw drastically reduced search visibility around that time.

“Interestingly, our research uncovered that once other conservative news organizations looked into it, they observed the same patterns,” he noted. “Search visibility is crucial; it determines how easily a company can be found online.” He revealed that during the Trump administration, Breitbart experienced a staggering 99.7 percent drop in search visibility from 2016 to 2020.

“Try to grasp this: it’s nearly impossible to find us on Google. Our editor-in-chief once demonstrated that even if you entered one of Breitbart’s headlines exactly, you still wouldn’t see a link to our site,” he explained. “That’s how effectively Google marginalizes voices.”

Host Mike Slater provided a real-world example by searching for Southern Poverty Law Center and Kash Patel in Google News. He noted that Al Jazeera was the first result displayed, suggesting a bias in the algorithm.

Madine remarked, “It seems they simply don’t want us to be visible.” He emphasized Google’s expertise in both promoting and suppressing information, saying, “They deeply understand search psychology, knowing what makes content go viral or remain hidden.” He elaborated on how users typically only click on the top few search results, rarely venturing further.

He concluded, “Often, they’ll place a conservative source on an obscure page three, knowing that it’s unlikely anyone will reach it. This is a deceptive practice.”

To take control back from such censorship, Breitbart News encourages its audience to utilize Google’s Preferred Sources feature. This allows readers to select Breitbart as a source in Google’s “Top Stories” section quickly.

For those interested, a simple click on the orange “Fight Back” button leads directly to the “Source Settings” page, where users can specify Breitbart as their favored outlet.