By: Leon Chen
Last Saturday, US lawmakers questioned Google over abortion searches suggesting “fake clinics”. These inaccurate results can divert people to “fake clinics” that don’t provide the necessary procedures and even deter people from ending their pregnancy. This comes at a critical moment when a Supreme Court decision could overturn the right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade.
An incredible 11 percent of Google searches led users to nonmedical facilities that don’t even provide abortion, and worse, a mind-boggling 37 percent for Google Maps searches are similarly innacurate. Many users who want to research about abortion as an option are being affected by these fake results.
The sites often attempt to actively dissuade patients from choosing abortion, often through misinformation tactics. Among the untruthful claims made by these false clinics, some claims suggest abortions will make the pregnant person infertile or that suicidal impulses are “common” after the abortion.
“Directing women toward fake clinics that traffic in misinformation and don’t provide comprehensive health services is dangerous to women’s health and undermines the integrity of Google’s search results,” said Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Democratic Lawmakers.
The search algorithm for Google is closely guarded, but the information released to the public states that the search engine determines webpages relevant to the user through past searches and “many other factors”. But the algorithm can be easily manipulated by groups that create interlinking networks of pages.
Abortion rights in the United States, in response to the upcoming Supreme Court decision, could swiftly shift in the coming months. 13 states which have already implemented “trigger laws” that effectively ban abortion the moment Roe is overturned, with at least five other states that are ready to follow. At this critical time, It is important for a global company like Google to fight misinformation through better and more accurate search results. Google’s widespread popularity throughout the world means that negative search result impact a lot of people.
“This is just another example of how hate and disinformation actors can weaponize digital platforms to cause real world harm to people,” said Imran Ahmad, CEO for the Center for Countering Digital Hate
Link to article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/18/google-abortion-clinic-searches-fake/