Could Google manipulate the outcome of the Presidential election?

[monty]

The search engine manipulation effect (SEME) and its possible impact on the outcomes of electionsWe present evidence from five experiments in two countries suggesting the power and robustness of the search engine manipulation effect (SEME). Specifically, we show that (i) biased search rankings can shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20% or more, (ii) the shift can be much higher in some demographic groups, and (iii) such rankings can be masked so that people show no awareness of the manipulation. Knowing the proportion of undecided voters in a population who have Internet access, along with the proportion of those voters who can be influenced using SEME, allows one to calculate the win margin below which SEME might be able to determine an election outcome.


Abstract
Internet search rankings have a significant impact on consumer choices, mainly because users trust and choose higher-ranked results more than lower-ranked results. Given the apparent power of search rankings, we asked whether they could be manipulated to alter the preferences of undecided voters in democratic elections. Here we report the results of five relevant double-blind, randomized controlled experiments, using a total of 4,556 undecided voters representing diverse demographic characteristics of the voting populations of the United States and India. The fifth experiment is especially notable in that it was conducted with eligible voters throughout India in the midst of India’s 2014 Lok Sabha elections just before the final votes were cast. The results of these experiments demonstrate that (i) biased search rankings can shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20% or more, (ii) the shift can be much higher in some demographic groups, and (iii) search ranking bias can be masked so that people show no awareness of the manipulation. We call this type of influence, which might be applicable to a variety of attitudes and beliefs, the search engine manipulation effect. Given that many elections are won by small margins, our results suggest that a search engine company has the power to influence the results of a substantial number of elections with impunity. The impact of such manipulations would be especially large in countries dominated by a single search engine company.

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/E4512.abstract

the full article is here:

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/E4512.full.pdf

[Dogman]

Interesting

Will have to try and test this over many searches to see if any bias is evident.

I can see how this could be done with the right algorithms .

[BrewTech]

Of course, this presumes that counted votes that people "cast" are what determines who gets the job.

Manipulation doesn't determine the "winner", but it does heavily influence the way the livestock make sense of the "results" they will be presented with in the end.

If this isn't true, why keep shoving "opinion polls" and "current standings" down the public's throat throughout the process? What purpose does it serve? The truth is, people just want to vote for the winner; that's why elections are likened to a horse race, with odds and the like. If the media says one "candidate" has the best chance of winning, that's who most will support. When they "win", no one is surprised.

[gunDriller]

Interesting

Will have to try and test this over many searches to see if any bias is evident.

I can see how this could be done with the right algorithms .


in Google's case, it can come down to plain old Advertiser input.

Manual Over-ride. the Algorithm between their Ears, the one that's hooked up to the Greed Bone.