Do you feel that Google has an agenda?

DenisP Level 1

October 3, 2017, 11:23 am

29

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So the other day I had posted a discussion regarding whether the state of advertising on YouTube has permanently changed due to recent controversy, or if the video sharing site will bounce back to its former self. Among the responses I've received was the sentiment that YouTube (and consequently its parent company, Google) was manipulating advertising and monetization on the website in order to push a certain political agenda. Many people believe that after the recent controversy, YouTube has been on a crusade against right-wing ideology, opting to instead promote left-leaning videos and advertisements.

YouTube is a free platform for anyone with a video camera and an internet connection to share their opinions and views with the world. And while I don't intend for this discussion to get political, it is an irrefutable fact that there has been a lot of controversial content that has arisen from the "alt-right" movement and its supporters. As a result, YouTube has seemingly been censoring this content by not promoting it as fervently as they would videos featuring left-leaning content. Because of this, people have claimed that they are being demonetized for discussing topics of even moderate controversy.

My question is, have you yourself noticed these acts of censorship first hand? If so, can you give some examples? I don't intend for this to be a left-wing versus right-wing debate, but rather a discussion to look into a possible agenda that Google may be promoting through their video sharing platform, YouTube. Do you think it is intentional on Google's part, or are they simply doing what they need to in order to bring back advertisers?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and perspectives, as I myself was looking to make a moderate income through YouTube, but it would seem your odds improve depending on the subject matter of your content.

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overcast

overcast

Google is an advertising company. It spies on the user data to get the advertisers deal. That's all. I don't think they have an agenda per se. But collecting data to sell to advertisers seems to be the prime agenda. As that seems to be getting them good results. And they have become rich due to that way. And they seem to be continuing on that policy. On that note I think google definitely has it's own way of managing the privacy of the users at the cost of the advertisers data.

That why they have products which take the user data. Think about it Google analytics, Google adwords, Google search. All are products of the user data. And that's how they make money.

9 years ago

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Rumu

Rumu

If politics was a book, we'll probably never carry any planks with written signs and call it a protest.

Put aside goodwill, plans and strategies as well, what''s left for driving a successful giant like google in a region? I'll tell you what. Relationship!

We get hurt when we fall out of relationships in our normal lives, let's make an instance of such with this topic. Organization and region interprets to man and wife. What happens when the relationship spills bad blood? The answer lies in the eueopean union's resolve on Google.

Check out the meaning of office politics if a grain still lingers within you.

9 years ago

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kgord

kgord

I am not sure if Google has an agenda or not, but if they do, I would be fairly certain it is left wing.I don't see a problem with that personally. It is their interest. However, they should be sensitive to the interests of all users.

9 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

Google's agenda is to remain family-friendly, support business and the entrepreneurial spirit, generate profits but be socially responsible at the same time, speak out in the political arena if there is a call for that type of action and speech, operate by moral and ethical principles they deem to be right according to their own conscience which is hopefully in the best interest of everyone, and maintain their place among the tech giants of the world.

P.S. Google didn't pay me to say that.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I think Google is a business angd a good business sense is to maintain the number 1 position in the industry. That means Google may be changing its policies in order to have the advantage over the competition. They may not admit it but Google+ is a pretender to Facebook. Youtube remains in the lead for video service and storage. It may be not so clear with us but definitely Google has an agenda.

9 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

I know that Google does remove content from YouTube and try to remove certain sites from search results if they are extremely right wing like Neo-Nazis. Personally, I do not have a problem with that because anyone that is a Neo-Nazi does not deserve any sort of platform to spout their absolute crap opinions. I doubt Google tries to push their own political agenda on you because if they did I'm sure they would lose a lot of users and they would not want that.

9 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

I certainly agree with you that the far right-wing extremists such as Neo-Nazis don't deserve to have a stage to spout their hateful nonsense. Though at the same time I wonder to myself, in a country that was built on concepts like the freedom of speech, is it constitutionally right to be censoring these people even if the content they're producing is hateful? Morally, it is without question that we should not tolerate hatred and racism. But it's not as if they're taking down their videos, they are just demonetizing them.

The advertisers made it clear that they don't want to be associated with these kind of people, and as we all know, money talks. Personally I think Google is doing the right thing.

9 years ago

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Barida

Barida

I have not experienced this firsthand, but I must say that if Google through its affiliation with my YouTube is trying to favor one section of an ideology in place of the other, then it is not entirely a wise move.

I mean it is supposed to be a platform for everyone willing to do a video to let viewers have access to it.

9 years ago

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Rumu

Rumu

@deathhazard..i disagree with you on not having a problem with that. This is where the rights and freedom to speech that we so talk about comes to play..plus I don't think there's any universal rule that forbids the expression of any ideology online be it Neo-nazis or any of such.

I think it's naive of us to think that some of Google's operational decision isn't based on political interest. We've seeing other platforms like facebook take such actions due unending pressure.

Still, I don't think google intentionally represents one side more than the other. It's just business and am sure you know how the whole SEO thing works. So yes, for your odds to improve you should what topic or content that appeals to the majority.

9 years ago

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Authord

Authord

Google's only agenda is to make more money, which is the right agenda. Sorry to bust your bubble but every tech authority site is been manipulated and tampered with by the government,. whether you like it not. So it sliding into politics is not even the agenda, they are really in politics. The moment you discover what power is, is the moment you understand what google is doing.

9 years ago

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mark8625

mark8625

Yeah google is a huge company and huge company is all about money. I think thats the only agenda of google to increase their profits and continue searching on how their business more advance and number one among others.

8 years ago

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Steve5

Steve5

That's true. Nothing is ever random. So much of the digital era is rooted in manipulation. We can see pretty much all the evidence that suggests something is afoot. But we don't need that. We're already aware of whatever tinkering is being made. I'm afraid it's the compromise in using the internet.

All your data is being stored somewhere. So they all have the power in the world. Because at this point, information is power.

8 years ago

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jpyy

jpyy

The stuff that YouTube and Google allow to be on there is rather sick. I'm talking about far-right stuff. In that case, unfortunately, they've done those extremist causes more help than could ever be imagined. I mean, could you envision this much publicity for them - back in the early 1990s (before the net)?

Anyway, I'm all for freedom of speech on the net (to a reasonable degree) even if it's promoting really vile crap. At least, as long as they're not doing things against the law like animal torture.

9 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

An agenda? No. I think as google gets bigger and more powerful financially, they feel the need to neutralize any threats to that empire. Like any company would. The bottom line is if you're going to use a google platform for your videos or content, you certainly cannot threaten the company line by having said content be offensive to their advertisers. Their advertisers and sponsors are the milk of their business after all.

9 years ago

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Steve5

Steve5

That makes a lot of sense. Google won't tolerate such attempts at going against their brand. So it's only normal for them to take the necessary steps to ensure their continued progress. Anyway, it's not so big a deal considering how much they're already making.

8 years ago

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TimothyAlex

TimothyAlex

I have not seen this firsthand, but I am aware of a lawsuit against Google and Youtube. Apparently, a conservative US group has had many of their videos restricted because they are "inappropriate for children". However, their videos feature many prominent people and academics. None of the videos contain "adult content" and left-wing videos on the same topics apparently don;t receive the same treatment.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

What are you hinting at, that Google has an inclination to the radicals? One newspaper columnist said that Microsoft had an anti-trust suit because the US government was afraid that Microsoft could conquer the world with its money and power. Now it is the turn of Google to be in that position. But I honestly think that Google has no hidden agenda and there’s no need to be scared of its bigness.

8 years ago

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mark8625

mark8625

Business is business. I guess the only agenda of google is pure business. Business is all about money, and money is all about power. That is the only thing that I can see.

8 years ago

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Steve5

Steve5

You're probably right. The biggest agenda in companies is generating money. So the same goes with their Google Ads services. Now they're making billions just from advertising alone.

8 years ago

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mark8625

mark8625

That is right. Their Google Ads makes billions of dollar. I actually thinking that those who has a Youtube Channel linking in the Google Ads, they actually paying with minimum percentage of the ads and the rest are for Google company.

8 years ago

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Steve5

Steve5

It's amazing how much money they're making. This is why Youtube has surpassed other online video platforms. Their combined efforts continue to dominate the advertising industry. I wonder what happens to all that money.

8 years ago

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mark8625

mark8625

It is all about money after all. They are making many applications and yet they doing it for money for sure. The more social media applications the more business and then huge money.

8 years ago

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Steve5

Steve5

What do you think they do with all that money? It seems that every rich company just keeps hoarding millions of dollars just for the sake of it.

It's scary how much power they have over the world. Google practically owns everything. Even people's private information.

8 years ago

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Steve5

Steve5

I don't think so. At least, not for political purposes. Google has been really keen on getting lots of people's data. In a way, they're transparent about it. But I still feel that they know more about us than we're led to believe. Practically everything we do on the internet is saved on their database.

8 years ago

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