Google’s PageRank Negatively Impacting Leftist Pages
https://www.salon.com/2017/10/18/fake-news-or-free-speech-is-google-cracking-down-on-left-media/
In terms of our Networks class this article brings up the concept of PageRank. We learned that whether or not a page shows up at the top of the list and the order all involves the rank its page has. This ranking is a number that is assigned to each page based on its relevance, determined by factoring how many expert websites the webpage links to and draws from, and how many other webpages use this original webpage. These pages are listed in a search result from highest points to lowest.
This article discusses the issues with the PageRank system Google currently has. Pagerank is problematic because there are methods people can use to “game the system” and have fake news bypass as credible news. To combat this, Google has made great efforts to adjust its signals “to help surface more authoritative pages and demote low-quality content.” However, websites that combat fake news such as Alternet have been negatively impacted by the algorithmic change as well. Because the Pagerank is wrought with loopholes like these that can’t necessarily determine quality, human intervention is needed to determine relevancy and quality. As David Aeurbach describes, “Computers are near-omnipotent cauldrons of processing power, but they’re also stupid.”