Antisemitic
pages amongst search engine results
- Reply-To: H-NET History
of Antisemitism List
- Sender: H-NET History
of Antisemitism List
- From: Daniel
Yurman
- List Editor: Richard
S Levy
Tuesday, September 19, 2000
Issue: What to do about mixed
up search results for Holocaust web sites?
Holocaust denier and related advocates of Neo-Nazi
politics are deceiving the search engine algorithms used
by Internet portal services such as Yahoo, Alta-Vista,
Hotbot, Lycos, and Excite, among others. The deceptive
practice involves the non-standard use of meta-tags. A
meta-tag is computer code not seen by end-users which
identifies the web site to search engines and allows them
to classify the site as to content. The outcome is search
engines return the web sites of Holocaust deniers, white
power advocates, and related neo-Nazi promoters when a
user enters the word "Holocaust" in the dialog box.
Background
The managers of Internet portal sites are well aware
of efforts to "game" their search engines by commercial
interests including pornographers, quick buck artists,
and even competing sports sites. A widely reported
example is 'whitehouse.com' which carries adult content.
However, managers of search engines and portal sites may
not be aware, or if they are have taken no action, with
regard to deliberate efforts to mislead Internet users
regarding web sites with Holocaust content.
Unsuspecting users get exposed to Nazi propaganda, and
related Holocaust denial material, based on their trust
of the efficiency and accuracy of the search engine
operations. This is an especially troublesome problem for
students and others who are too young to have had
first-hand contact with Holocaust survivors.
Discussion
The portal sites noted above account for a significant
percentage of web-based searches for information. There
are many other search engines, but these get the most
"hits" on a daily basis. Collectively, they represent
tens-of-millions of searches. While there is no way to
know how many searches are requested on Holocaust topics
over time, it must be a significant number, else the
problem of Holocaust deniers masquerading as the real
thing would not have come to some reader's attention.
It would be a relatively simply matter to prepare a
set of examples of Holocaust denier web sites. Include
examples of meta-tag source code that show the difference
between true Holocaust
sites, such as Nizkor, the US Holocaust Museum,
archives for this list, etc., and, denier sites such as
David Irving's or Rae West's. By showing
the differences in meta-tags, search engine programmers
could have the basis for changing their algorithms to
separate true Holocaust sites from bogus ones.
A letter, perhaps to be
signed by a number of
appropriate
Holocaust scholars, could be
delivered to the CEOs of the major portal sites. The
letter would serve to notify the CEOs of the nature of
the problem and also provide the technical means for
addressing it. Included with the letter would be a
briefing on Holocaust deniers, the examples of
meta-tag source code, and examples of legitimate
Holocaust sites, as well as their meta-tags.
This dual approach, at the policy and technical
levels, could be successful in addressing a worrisome
problem. A point of leverage is that the managers and
technical staff of portal sites with popular search
engines do not like to be "gamed" by anyone, regardless
of commercial interests or politics. The reason is the
reputation of the search engines is a distinctive
competency for gaining competitive advantage.
If the word gets out that search engines of portal
sites have been deceived, it could cost them users. As
the number of users is a key determinant of revenue, from
advertising and electronic commerce, anything that
assures the integrity of the search engine is valued, and
anything that undercuts it gets corrective action once
its effects have become known. It follows that the
business managers of these sites would have a natural
interest in closing a vulnerability in their
operations.
What Results Would Be Achieved?
Of course deniers might complain such actions are
anti-thetical to free speech. They might accuse the
search engines of "being in bed with an international
Jewish conspiracy." However, if Holocaust deniers,
Neo-Nazis, and other hate groups are "spoofing" search
engines with bogus meta tags, the proposed action would
only serve to cause them to use the technology correctly
or at least be thwarted from achieving their goals of
using the technology incorrectly. It would not limit
access to their sites, but it could insure the search
engines reported their status and purpose differently
that others.
It would lend integrity to search engine results, and
it would aid to protect the impressionable and the young
from inappropriate or untruthful material. It would aid
teachers and the news media in correctly identifying
Holocaust related resources on the web which are
unaffected by the revisionist message.
Readers of this list might also wish to check out the
slim but useful volume, "Web Wisdom -- How to Evaluate
and Create Information Quality on the Web," by
Janet Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate isbn
0-8058-3123-1 A related web site may be found at
http://www.widener.edu/libraries.html
Daniel
Yurman
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