Big Tech, Big Influence
Google and other big tech companies can cause over 20% swing in election outcomes
How Google is (S)electing Candidates
Dr. Robert Epstein (not the Epstein that didn’t kill himself…yet) first appeared in the election space in 2015 when he published his study on the ‘search engine manipulation effect’ (SEME) in the peer reviewed ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’. The study showed how Google and other search engine companies can manipulate and direct searches to make one candidate more favorable over another. Epstein claims that this tactic can cause up to a 25% swing in the vote.
Epstein has solid creds - his doctorate is in Psychology from Harvard, he was a former Editor in Chief of ‘Psychology Today’, has written several books and over 300 articles, has testified before Congress and appeared on several news shows to discuss his findings.
While he was mostly ignored when he made the media tour during and after the 2016 election, Epstein continues to provide support for his initial research. In the April 30, 2023 article linked above, he claims:
The concept called ‘ephemeral experiences’ can include newsfeeds, search results, search suggestions and sequences of YouTube videos. They are not recorded but are designed to manipulate user behavior. Biased search results, for example, shift undecided voters towards the favored candidate.
The pro Hillary Clinton bias in 2016 was observed through a detection system setup to monitor and record user interactions. If the bias had been present for six months, Epstein argues that it could have shifted millions of votes.
Vote reminders were sent out or shown more often to moderates, then liberals, then conservatives.
Effective monitoring can cause big tech companies to stop.
What can YOU do?
Send a link to the above article to your US Representatives (House and Senate) to make sure they are aware of this issue and to push for legislation to regulate big tech.
Contact the campaign of your favorite candidate and suggest they spend the money to setup the monitoring system mentioned in the linked article. Dr. Epstein has shown that this monitoring can detect and neutralize the effect of big tech influence.
I disagree with more regulation being a solution. Big Tech should have the same regulations as other companies (no special deals!) and the US Government should not be allowed to interfere in free speech on any platform. Most important, people should:
1. Educate themselves by talking directly with candidates when possible.
2. Listen to first-hand one-on-one interviews with candidates.
3. Stop using the Internet to tell them how to think. Expect lies from all sides.
4. Engage in critical thinking. Ask questions! Insist on thorough answers.
5. Talk with other humans. Be engaged in politics at the grass-roots level with humans, not computers.
6. Get people registered to vote and them get them to vote -- intelligently -- after doing 1-5 above.
7. Watch the voting systems. Be poll workers. Don't sit back. Don't be lazy.
No amount of regulation will work, because companies will find workarounds.