‘DuckDuckBye’: Conservatives Revolt After DuckDuckGo Vows to Down-Rank ‘Russian Disinformation’ Sites
Conservatives vowed to quit the search engine DuckDuckGo after its CEO vowed to down-rank Russian disinformation sites on Thursday.
The search engine is a favorite for conservatives and libertarians with privacy concerns.
DuckDuckGo, which was founded in 2008, proclaims on its landing page: “Tired of being tracked online? We can help. We don’t store your personal info. We don’t follow you around with ads. We don’t track you. Ever.”
Those who have flocked to the site in favor of Google in recent years are not happy after CEO Gabriel Weinberg announced the company would change its algorithm.
Weinberg tweeted, “Like so many others I am sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create. #StandWithUkraine️… At DuckDuckGo, we’ve been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation.”
He added, “In addition to down-ranking sites associated with disinformation, we also often place news modules and information boxes at the top of DuckDuckGo search results (where they are seen and clicked the most) to highlight quality information for rapidly unfolding topics.”
In addition to down-ranking sites associated with disinformation, we also often place news modules and information boxes at the top of DuckDuckGo search results (where they are seen and clicked the most) to highlight quality information for rapidly unfolding topics.
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
The tech CEO vowed privacy would still remain part of DuckDuckGo’s mission.
DuckDuckGo’s mission is to make simple privacy protection accessible to all. Privacy is a human right and transcends politics, which is why about 100 million people around the world use DuckDuckGo. (We don’t have an exact count since we don’t track people.)
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
But as soon as he posted the update, many of those who use the search engine revolted on Twitter.
“DuckDuckGo shows why you can’t back a “non-ideological” platform. It will always – always! – turn left wing,” commented Mike Cernovich.
DuckDuckGo shows why you can’t back a “non-ideological” platform. It will always – always! – turn left wing.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) March 10, 2022
Michael Malice tweeted: “[I] would bet good money there was some intense behind-the-scenes pressure that led to this decision which strongly harms duckduckgo’s competitive advantage.”
i would bet good money there was some intense behind-the-scenes pressure that led to this decision which strongly harms duckduckgo’s competitive advantage https://t.co/jsjtqKYaEA
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) March 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Tom Fitton asked his followers if there are “any search engines that respect users?”
.@DuckDuckGo, contrary to its implicit promises to the contrary, is now in the censorship business. Are there any search engines that respect users? https://t.co/uUvzKhI5YQ
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) March 10, 2022
Other conservatives similarly lashed out:
15 years to build a company. One tweet to ruin it. DuckDuckGo sold itself on unmanipulated search results, now admitting it will manipulate search results. Has it been doing it all along? Makes no difference now. Integrity irreparably compromised. With one tweet. https://t.co/KryVtecuuQ pic.twitter.com/IO8ytVi2PE
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) March 11, 2022
Et tu, DuckDuckGo? pic.twitter.com/2snzjTyKcF
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 11, 2022
DuckDuckGo announces it will actively be deranking sites in search results that it believes are guilty of “disinformation”
Simultaneously, it will be highlighting “quality” information pic.twitter.com/rjGTYyIXmr
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) March 10, 2022
RIP DuckDuckGo. They caved to the establishment.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 11, 2022
I’ve put up with a lot of the clunkiness of @DuckDuckGo because I thought they were for free speech and anti tracking but they lost me today. I decide what information I will see and assess whether good or bad. https://t.co/0mccigXrxY
— 🇺🇸Col. Rob Maness ret. (@RobManess) March 11, 2022
“Like so many others I am sickened by the covid-19 pandemic and the gigantic health crisis it continues to create. #StandWithScience
At DuckDuckGo, we’ve been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with medical disinformation.”@yegg, do you see the problem? https://t.co/HJWToE1cz2
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) March 11, 2022
Hey @yegg #DuckDuckGo, what about Ukraine disinformation? How about American media disinformation? Are they above putting out #DuckDuckGone
I am seriously asking for most of my American friends… pic.twitter.com/rYnUqoDhQ2
— Wayne Dupree Media, LLC ⭐️ (@WayneDupreeShow) March 11, 2022
What a shame. DuckDuckGo, which became a standout alternative to Google precisely by being defiant against Big Tech information meddling, has caved. The lame ‘Russian media bad, Western media good’ its justification.
DuckDuckGone https://t.co/YMOtnUUyux
— Andreas Vou (@AndreasVou89) March 10, 2022
Why wouldn’t I use your competitor @startpage if all I want is privacy? Duckduckgo was attractive because it held up a higher standard of freedom of information than google or google proxies. You just destroyed your usp
— Ancilla (@ncilla) March 11, 2022
Meh. @DuckDuckGo publicly mocked Google for manipulating search engine results. Then it just admitted doing it itself. Google results, while skewed, were still better. I just thought DDG was honest so I was supporting them. Now I know better.
— Douglas Karr (@douglaskarr) March 11, 2022
And with one tweet, DuckDuckGo has now lost half its reason for existence. https://t.co/JgxVCuQcJq
— Josh Steimle (@joshsteimle) March 11, 2022
So disappointed in @DuckDuckGo.
The globalists got to them.
Switching to @brave search.
Are @BrendanEich and co untouchable?
— JD Rucker (@JDRucker) March 11, 2022
It’s DuckDuckBye …
The only reason to use it was to not support partisan searches and bans on information. Now that is no longer the case @DuckDuckGo has cooked its own goose. https://t.co/PdH7VAdTjP— Priscilla Pilon (@PriscillaPilon) March 11, 2022
