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posted by Fnord666 on Friday August 16 2019, @01:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-not-do-evil dept.

[Ed note: This story was originally posted 2019-08-15 04:41 UTC but was lost when we had the site crash Thursday morning. Prior comments have, unfortunately, been lost. --martyb]

'Google Blocked TorrentFreak From Appearing in Search Feature'

Documents released by whistleblower Zachary Vorhies suggests that Google actively blocked hundreds of sites, including TorrentFreak, from its Google Now service. The blocklist doesn't provide a specific reason for the blockade, but other sites are flagged for having a high user block rate or for peddling hoax stories. Vorhies has shared the documents with the US Department of Justice.

At TorrentFreak, we have written hundreds of articles about website blocking and censorship. Today, we're featured in one ourselves.

Leaked Google documents reveal that TorrentFreak.com shows up in one of Google's previously unknown blocklists, which actively hides our domain from the Google Now service.

Google Now was a Google search feature that presented users with informational cards, to provide users with more details on subjects of interest to them. While the brand no longer exists, the feature is still present in the Google Android app and its feed.

The controversial blocklist is part of a treasure trove of files that were leaked by whistleblower Zachary Vorhies, who shared them with Project Veritas. The entire collection of files uncovers many previously unknown policies and actions from Google.

The story that broke SoylentNews™.

See also (Zachary Vorhies in the news): YouTube Software Engineer Describes Seeing Altercation In Building Courtyard
America's Greatest Makers is like American Idol for geeks, so we talked to one

Previously: Veritas Claims Leaked Internal E-Mails from Google Showing Political Bias of Results


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday August 16 2019, @02:05PM (3 children)

    by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 16 2019, @02:05PM (#881071) Journal
    I will have to accept that our Troll detection levels are calibrated differently, and leave it at that.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @02:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @02:26PM (#881083)

    No you don't have to do that. You choose to do that in order to avoid personal development.
    I used to think just like you. But then I realized I was part of the problem because I was allowing myself to be used by sociopaths who have figured out that my naivete was their best weapon.

    I should have paid better attention in history class, I would have figured it out a lot sooner. Lots of other smart people did. For example:

    Jonathan Swift - “Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it.”
    Or colloquially "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."

    More relevant to this particular conversation:

    “Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”

    ― Jean Paul-Sartre
    Anti‐Semite and Jew [1944]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @09:45AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @09:45AM (#881476)

    Much like the TMB, janrinok does not grok the troll. The more's the pity. This site would be so much the better if all the Nazis were put into camps, like, to work, or be re-educated. But in the mean time, we troll the less intelligent, in ways that at the extreme give them some insight into their idiocity. Hasn't worked at all with Runaway, I suspect he is just too old and Arkansan (and Polish; wasn't Archie Bunker a Polack?). I am beginning to suspect that janrinok is, or was, a Nazi collaborator, or at least a Troy before Balfour. And Brexit now? How is that not racist?

    • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday August 17 2019, @11:19AM

      by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 17 2019, @11:19AM (#881488) Journal

      janrinok does not grok the troll.

      I understand Trolls quite well, but one mustn't assume that because somebody trolled in the past that they are doing the same now. Perhaps, like you, they just have a skewed view of the world and genuinely believe that only they can see what is happening. I prefer to give them a chance to speak before I judge them.

      This site would be so much the better if all the Nazis were put into camps

      Well you've made your position quite clear. Now why should we even consider posting your submissions? Yet, we still read every one and judge them on their merit each time.

      janrinok is, or was, a Nazi collaborator,

      WW2 had finished before I came along. There are neo-nazis today of course, but I have never personally met one, nor met a nazi for that matter. Or are you using that term for anyone who is to the right of your chosen position on the spectrum?

      And Brexit now? How is that not racist?

      Pray tell me which races are involved in Brexit? There are nations who are partners in the EU, but not races, so that doesn't make it a racist issue.