@STUinSD 1) "Google manipulation of search results could have cost Trump 2.6 million votes in 2016. In 2020, as many as 15 million votes could be manipulated." -- Robert Epstein, senior research psychologist, American Institute for Behavioral Research & Technology
@STUinSD 2) Epstein said he knows the number of votes that shifted because he conducted dozens of controlled experiments in the U.S. and other countries that measure precisely how opinions and votes shift when search results favor one candidate, cause or company.
@STUinSD 3) This Search Engine Manipulation Effect, or "SEME," is one of the most powerful forms of influence ever discovered in the behavioral sciences, particularly because it is invisible to people, or subliminal, in effect, Epstein said.
@STUinSD 4) " ... people (believe) they've made up their own minds, which is very much an illusion. It leaves no paper trail & the very few who can detect search result bias shift even farther in the direction of the bias, so merely being able to see the bias doesn't protect you from it."
@STUinSD 4) Some 70% of videos people watch on YouTube are suggested by its up next algorithm, Epstein said.
"If a platform wants to shift people's views & votes, you can't counteract what they're doing. In most cases, you can't even see what they are doing – unless you are monitoring."
"If a platform wants to shift people's views & votes, you can't counteract what they're doing. In most cases, you can't even see what they are doing – unless you are monitoring."
@STUinSD @threadreaderapp unroll 1) "Google manipulation
