NY Times interviews David North on Google censorship
The WSWS’s campaign against internet censorship gathered strength this week, as the New York Times published an article highlighting Google’s censorship of the World Socialist Web Site.
The article included an extensive interview with David North, Chairman of the World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board.
Technology reporter Daisuke Wakabayashi reviews the extensive evidence presented by the World Socialist Web Site that Google is censoring left-wing websites in the name of fighting “fake news.” Research by the WSWS has found that search traffic to thirteen left-wing, anti-war, and progressive sites has fallen by 55 percent since Google announced changes to its search algorithm.
The article arises from the open letter to Google executives written by North, and published on August 25. It reflects the increased public awareness of Google’s blacklisting of left-wing, anti-war, and progressive web sites, as the result of the initiative taken by the World Socialist Web Site.
“This is not an accident,” the Times quotes North as saying, “This is some form of deliberate intervention.”
When the Times requested a comment from Google on the WSWS’s findings, the company refused to respond, in effect making no effort to refute North’s claims.
“I’m against censorship in any form,” North told the Times. “It’s up to people what they want to read. It’s not going to stop with the World Socialist Web Site. It’s going to expand and spread.”
The WSWS’s petition protesting Internet censorship has already received more than 4,200 signatures.
We need your help to fight Google’s censorship!
- Donate so that we can continue to expose the blacklisting of left-wing media. Give $500, $250, or $100 today.
- Share the Google petition on relevant websites, forums, Facebook groups and event pages, and engage with others to explain the importance of this campaign. The ruling class fears the Internet and social media because they can be powerful tools to spread the truth.
Sincerely,
The World Socialist Web Site
