Which search engine gives the most annoying results?.
The Internet gives us almost unlimited access to information. But how reliable is this information? Conspiracy theories and disinformation run rampant on the Internet. Controversial and even dangerous content is easy to find.
Because of this, we wanted to know which search engines provide the most disturbing information. We have focused our searches on the following categories:
Controversy: Anything considered divisive, including the Covid-19 vaccine, critical race theory, and the 2020 election.Conspiracies: Theories that assert an event or confluence circumstances as a result of secret conspiracies of influential individuals or groups. For example, the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was a hoax. Dangerous Intentions: Anything that leads to a dangerous situation, such as making bombs from a pressure cooker or printing a 3D gun.
We then analyzed each of the results to categorize them into four main categories. These categories include:
Disinformation or sensationalism: False information, misinformation, or misrepresentation presented as facts to gain attention. Supporting a conspiracy theory: Supporting a conspiracy theory or presenting a new conspiracy theory. li>Noncritical: Deliberately neutral. Don’t offer support for a potentially disturbing idea, but don’t oppose it either. Malicious: Actively escorting readers through dangerous situations such as suicide.
We analyzed 2,640 results from four search engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo – to find out which ones contain the most important information.
Google Supplied the Fewest Alarming Results and DuckDuckGo Supplied the Most
This study revealed a clear difference between the four major search engines. Especially how they handle dangerous or disturbing search results. We consider dangerous results that have dangerous intentions, spread misinformation, or promote conspiracy theories.
Only 3% of Google search results were dangerous, the fewest of those four search engines. Yahoo was next, with one in four results leading to negative or dangerous resources. DuckDuckGo and Bing were likely to produce dangerous results. Nearly a third of Bing and DuckDuckGo’s results were negative or disturbing. This makes sense since DuckDuckGo pulls a lot of results from the Bing index.
DuckDuckGo and Bing are nine times more likely to be exposed to dangerous content than Google. Yahoo users were seven times more likely to experience dangerous results than Google users. These results show how likely it is for someone to come across dangerous information online.
Search Engines with the Most Sensationalized Results
We then analyzed the search results for controversial or sensational topics. These include COVID-19, climate change, and President Biden’s mental health.
When searching for “Biden’s mental health” on DuckDuckGo, the most popular result was “FLASHBACK: A neurosurgeon told Biden he had less than a 50% chance of ‘being completely normal’.” The title suggests that Biden has health problems, but the content refers to surgery for two cranial aneurysms in the late 1980s.
In fact, when it comes to controversial topics:
27% of DuckDuckGo results were classified as misinformation or sensationalism.25% of Bing results were classified as misinformation or sensationalism.18% of Yahoo results. the results were classified as misinformation or sensationalism.2% of Google results were classified as misinformation or sensationalism.
“Climate change is a hoax” had the most sensational results for DuckDuckGo, Bing, and Yahoo. Google only came up with two sensational results out of the 150 we rated for this category.
“Red Pill” was also popular in search results. But all search engines, except Google, reacted uncritically to this. The term itself is controversial as it comes from a famous scene in The Matrix. When someone takes the red pill, they want to know a potentially disturbing or life-changing truth. Today, the term is often used by those who lean to the right, such as supporters of Donald Trump and Alex Jones.
Many of the results offered thinly veiled misogynistic or otherwise malicious messages. Google returns nothing in support of Red Pill or sympathy for the term’s darker message in the top 30 results. In fact, the first result on Google is an article titled “Swallowing the Red Pill: A Journey to the Heart of Modern Misogyny.”
Search Engines That Provide Information With Dangerous Intent
To examine results with dangerous intent, we focused on weapons, bombs, drugs, and suicide requests.
Compared to Google users, DuckDuckGo and Bing users are four times more likely to come across results with dangerous intent. Yahoo users are 3.6 times more likely than Google users. At the same time, all search platforms produced useful results for dangerous queries.
Three main themes produced the most dangerous results. In all four search engines, the most dangerous information was obtained for the following queries:
How to print a 3D weapon.How to make meth.Methods of suicide.
On Google, Bing, and Yahoo, “how to 3D print a gun” turned up more results with dangerous intent. On DuckDuckGo, “How to Make Meth” produced more dangerous results.
All four platforms also provided useful results on suicide. But it’s interesting to note the difference between Google, Bing and Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo.
When searching for “easiest way to commit suicide” and “least painful way to commit suicide,” Google, Bing, and Yahoo offer great helpful messages along with the National Suicide Helpline number. It is designed to grab the user’s attention before they open the search result.
On DuckDuckGo, the phrase “how to kill yourself” prompts suicide prevention resources to appear above search results. But those resources don’t come up when looking for “the easiest or least painful ways to commit suicide.” In fact, the first result for the “simplest” query even suggests sleeping pills in the meta description, even though the post itself contains information to prevent suicide.
As this study found, search results on DuckDuckGo are the least filtered or verified.
The Most Conspiracy-Friendly Search Engines
Search engines are second to none in what conspiracy content gets through. Most Americans believe in at least one conspiracy. But because the Internet has made connecting with other people more accessible than before, conspiracies are spreading faster than ever.
DuckDuckGo is the most conspiracy theorist-friendly search engine. Along with Bing and Yahoo, these platforms allowed conspiracy-supporting sources to be placed on the first three pages of results. It is important to note that on the first three pages, authoritative sources and news items prevailed over pro-conspiracy sites.
On DuckDuckGo, Bing, and Yahoo, the top conspiracies that brought back pro-conspiracy resources were “Was Jeffrey Epstein Killed” and “9/11 is an inside job.” DuckDuckGo and Bing also had many conspiracy-supporting results that surfaced in connection with the “Sandy Hook hoax”.
In general, Yahoo’s front pages were less filled with conspiracy results than DuckDuckGo or Bing.
On Google, only two important conspiracy terms return any supporting resources: 9/11 and the moon landing. All other conspiracy theories brought back professional and scientific resources debunking conspiracy theories.
Which Websites Surface the Most?
Search engines are only one part of the information search equation. The specific websites that are returned for each request affect the transmission of disputes, conspiracies, and conditions of dangerous intent. Therefore, we wanted to better understand the types of websites that each search platform provides to its users.
With Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia is the most visited website. At Yahoo, the blogging platform Medium is the most visited site. Interestingly, all four search engines serve YouTube more than any single newscast.
Of all search results, more than 10% of Google results came from institutional sites such as .gov and .edu. DuckDuckGo returned 36% fewer institutional results than Google, while Bing returned 35% fewer. Yahoo returned 19% fewer institutional results.
Google also provided the fewest results on social media like Reddit or Medium. DuckDuckGo delivered 54% more social media results than Google. Bing returned 42% more results and Yahoo returned 27% more social media results.
The spread of misinformation and harmful rhetoric has increased over the past decade. And since different search engines have emerged as major platforms, there is a noticeable difference in the content of search results.
DuckDuckGo is much more likely to produce problematic results. These may be websites that support conspiracy theories or sites with dangerous intent. The same results were almost as likely in Bing.
search engine
Yahoo tends to be more strict than DuckDuckGo and Bing. As a rule, it returns fewer dangerous resources and sites with misinformation. However, Google filters out more dangerous results and misinformation than other search platforms.
The Internet is one of the greatest tools of mankind. This allows us to explore almost any topic, but this wealth of information is not limited to hassle-free content.
Many computer tips emphasize the importance of antivirus software and the use of strong passwords, but it is equally important to avoid misinformation and harmful content on the Internet. Choose your search engine wisely. And always watch out for dangerous search results.
Methodology:
Between March 25 and March 29, 2022, we analyzed 2,640 search results across four major search engines to determine which one produces the most dangerous results: Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo.
To do this, we have created a list of topics that fall under controversy, conspiracies, and dangerous intentions. We then analyzed the first 30 results for related queries. These questions are: Biden’s mental health, is the war in Ukraine justified, critical racial theory in schools, gender identity in schools, was Jeffrey Epstein killed, is the coronavirus vaccine safe, does the coronavirus vaccine change your DNA, does ivermectin work, red pill, how to 3D print a gun, how to make a pressure cooker bomb, how to make methamphetamine, did we really land on the moon, Sandy Hook prank, 9/11 inside job, who is Q, flat earth theory, least painful way to commit suicide, the easiest way to commit suicide, did trump win the election, 2020 election fraud-proof, climate change, is climate change real and climate change hoax.
Which search engine gives the most annoying results?
Which search engine gives the most annoying results?