Global Perspectives

In 2011, Eli Pariser, the founder of MoveOn.org, gave a TED Talk called “Beware Online Filter Bubbles.” Pariser describes in his presentation how Google and Facebook use algorithms to make guesses about our interests so that they can filter out information that the algorithm suggests is not relevant to us, leading to a situation he calls the “filter bubble” in which the only points of view we ever see when we search for information are the ones with which we are already inclined to agree.

Watch Pariser’s presentation in the video below:

In his presentation (and the accompanying book), Pariser argues that users need to have more control over the filters that sites like Google and Facebook put into place. Because filters work invisibly, we don’t always know what information we are not seeing and miss opportunities to be challenged by points of view that may be different from our own.

You may wonder why it’s important to be exposed to views that are different from our own, especially if you don’t intend to change your mind about something and you’re not interested in trying to change anyone else’s mind either.

Pariser’s argument is that if we are not exposed to information that challenges our worldview, we run the risk of becoming trapped in that worldview, cut off from one whole side of a conversation that could help us expand our own understanding of a topic and of each other as people.

Thinking about this as a producer and collaborator rather than just as a consumer, how do you think you would feel if a search engine prioritized people’s search results so that the only ones who found your work were those who were already inclined to agree with you? You might be relieved as this would no doubt save you from nasty comments from potential trolls. But then again, you might feel as though people who take a different point of view are missing out on important information by not seeing your work.

Of course, just because websites that support a view the user disagrees with may not be prioritized in a list of search results doesn’t mean that the user doesn’t have access to them at all, if they are searching in the United States. It may just take more clicking or a slightly different search strategy to get to that information.

The same may not be true in other countries, where censorship of information is more pervasive than it is in the United States. Governments around the world may exercise control over the information that is available to their citizens for a variety of reasons.

In China, for example, there is something called the Golden Shield Project, better known as the Great Firewall of China. Through this project, Chinese citizens are denied access to information about political ideologies that differ from the government’s preferred message.

Australia filters the internet for its citizens as well, restricting content on moral grounds. Sites with adult content or that can be interpreted as helping people commit crimes can be added to a blacklist and blocked for the whole country.

In Germany, sites about the Holocaust may be blocked and their creators prosecuted if they can be interpreted as supporting the views of Holocaust deniers since Holocaust denial is considered a felony in that country.

Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writing as S.G. Ballentyre, once wrote (in a quote that is often mistakenly attributed to Voltaire), “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Whether or not you feel that strongly about this idea, you might still agree that there is value in allowing different points of view to be expressed and being able to access those different points of view ourselves to both expand our worldview and help make us more knowledgeable participants in the conversation at hand.

Choose one of the following options to complete this quest.

OPTION #1:

In the video, Pariser demonstrates how two friends doing the same Google search at the same time got very different results. With a friend, try Pariser’s experiment. Take screen shots of both results pages. Are there differences? If so, what do you think is the reason for the differences? If not, why not?

OPTION #2:

Think of an issue about which you have a definite opinion. Search the internet for information that supports the opposite point of view. Copy and paste the URL into the box below and answer the following: In what ways, if any, did you have to adjust your normal search to locate this information? What might someone who has access only to information supporting this point of view believe about the topic? What information might they be missing? Do you feel it is important for you to have access to this information, even if it does not change your mind? Why or why not?