Google Search Results Can Lean Liberal, Study Finds

An analysis by online-search marketer CanIRank.com found that 50 recent searches for political terms on Google surfaced more liberal-leaning webpages than conservative ones, as rated by a panel of four people.

The CanIRank analysis has weaknesses, most notably its reliance on four people’s judgments. Moreover, the findings are somewhat mixed: The searches surfaced more pages rated as “liberal” than “conservative” on a 5-point scale, but more pages were rated “very conservative” than “very liberal.” Still, the report’s findings may fuel concerns about the influence of a handful of internet companies and their often-opaque computer programs. Facebook Inc. is battling accusations that it widely circulated false news stories during the presidential campaign.