Late last year I was focusing on attempting to investigate and analyze the leaked Google "Good Censor Report". I wrote this as sort of part one, and brief as it is I'm glad I did commit to recording my intent. When I read it again while I was absent-mindedly flicking through my steemit feed, it acted as a reminder to not forget about this leaked report. It made me realise that I had memory holed this topic like most others had around the entire world.
This part 2 will show some of the news coverage I reviewed to write the following part 3. Outside of Breitbart's extensive exposé comprised of several articles and an op ed from the Breitbart Senior Tech Editor, Allum Bokhari, the Good Censor report was barely covered. Yet in saying that what I did find in terms of information was telling, mainly from where it was found published.
Mainstream Media coverage was non-existent, Google was silent and online communities' a.k.a outrage squads, didn't know what to do (so they did the usual, nothing). I committed to not doing the same though. I researched, drafted, wrote and had nightmares.
Now I present some of what will be forthcoming in part 3. Enjoy the #OPToughLove. Nothing is sacred and soon none of us will be thinking about trust or safety at all.
EPIC: Google's Leaked Document On Their Censorship Of The Web: 'The Good Censor'
By
@ura-soul on Steemit
The Good Censor - The Google Internal Memo Promoting It And Silicon Valley Mass Censoring The World
By the Constitutionalist Libertarian on Bitchute
Google now plays 'Good Censor' for civility's sake, leaked internal briefing confirms
By rt.com
Leaked Google research shows company grappling with censorship and free speech
By theverge.com
The Google News Initiative: Building a stronger future for newsblog.google.com published 20th March 2018...
Is Social Media Empowering Or Silencing Our Voices
article by Kalev Leetaru published in forbes.com on the 8th Oct 2018...
leading article by Allum Bokhari published in breitbart.com on the 9th Oct 2018...
No Google Isn't Trying To Censor The Web
article by Kalev Leetaru published in forbes.com on the 10th Oct 2018...
Bokhari: In ‘The Good Censor,’ Google Admitted to Censorship — And The Media Ignored It
article by Allum Bokhari published in breitbart.com on the 14th October 2018...
The chronological order in which these articles were published, going all the way back to March 2018 with Google announcing a $300 million "Google News Initiative", is worth further scrutiny. March 2018 is when Google's "The Good Censor" report was published internally. I wonder which was announced/published first? The Google Blog announcing a $300 million injection into the soft-power control of media that would leave Google to essentially dictate what variety of views and freedom to share them exist? Or was it the amateurish powerpoint presentation masquerading as a report and circulated internally?
Another thing, did the internal division amongst Google staff regarding their Chinese Operation Dragonfly project have anything to do with the timeline of articles above? A quick search and it seems like this wasn't a story until August 2018.
Big Government, Big Media, Big Journalism..
Who coined these terms as distinctly separate power structures that require intense scrutiny? He's been gone for a while now...
I read The Google Censor report and when I later read Allum's follow up on how the media ignored his journalism published a week earlier, an email to him was crafted and sent. Maybe he would appreciate a kind word to soothe the pain from being shirked by the big boys in Media.
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2018 3:01 PM
From: No Body
To: [email protected] [email protected]
Good Afternoon Allum,
First of all we want to send our congratulations to you on providing such an explosive story regarding Google's "The Good Censor" internal report last month. It certainly impacted us.
However the complete cone of silence over any wider coverage or mainstream media questioning is something that affected us too. Your follow up article on the 14th October echoes our sentiments in relation to the curiously conspicuous lack of coverage or discussion. https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2018/10/14/bokhari-in-the-good-censor-google-admitted-to-censorship-and-the-media-ignored-it/
We have been investigating youtube since June 2017 when the elsagate debacle first exploded amongst online communities. Our channel "Investigating Youtube" has undergone a shift to "Exposing Exploitation" as the misuse of popular culture characters from Marvel and Disney to garner millions of views from children on youtube was just the tip of the iceberg. There is a far more seedier and criminal underworld on social media platforms (including Youtube) which must be addressed and it is our purpose to see this receive the wider coverage it demands, namely to protect children and empower parents to make the right choices.
What shocked us most about Google's "The Good Censor" report that it reserved 90% of it's content to the contentious issue of what censorship and free speech means in the context of the tech giant domination in the online world, but the remaining 10% did not address the legal aspects surrounding the misuse (often criminal) of their platforms.
FOSTA, SESTA, Communications Decency Act are barely mentioned, and COPPA is excluded entirely. This is unacceptable and negligent of Google's responsibility to act in the best interests of their users (especially their 13 and under users) to protect them from being exploited or exposed to harmful content.
Our purpose in reaching out to you is that Exposing Exploitation is planning to release their next video on Google's "The Good Censor" report. We are currently in the process of writing up an article and script for it as the bulk of our research has been collated now. Please keep an eye out for it as we would love to hear your thoughts regarding it.
Also we note that your original series of articles were published on the 9th October 2018 on Breitbart.com, yet Kalev Leetaru from forbes.com published an article the day prior which reads like a precursor to Google's report and it's theme. This is interesting, considering that Kalev was a contributor to Google's report and is quoted several times throughout it, criticizing the practices of Google and other social media giants. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/10/08/is-social-media-empowering-or-silencing-our-voices/#2ba6cdc61010
Coincidence?
Yours Sincerely,
No one
Is Allum Bokhari and alternative media playing at being wise guys?
Media, what the fuck is that? Simply am entrenched power disdainful of any upstart.
Sickening for this disdain to mute any dialogue or reply (what is there to hide?)
Sickening silence from media mainstream & the alternatives like Breitbart.
Part three entails an exhaustive analysis, slide by slide of Google's The Good Censor report. See you there.
