If you're lazy and want someone to read the article to you
Coming off of the also unsurprising revelations that DALL-E 3 does similar shenanigans with inserting random diversity words into queries, this really should surprise nobody that searches have been compromised for awhile. Anecdotally, I wouldn't be surprised if this is why Google search has seemingly gotten worse at finding what I want over the past several years.
Now, the projector screen showed an internal Google slide about changes to its search algorithm...
This onscreen Google slide had to do with a “semantic matching” overhaul to its SERP algorithm. When you enter a query, you might expect a search engine to incorporate synonyms into the algorithm as well as text phrase pairings in natural language processing. But this overhaul went further, actually altering queries to generate more commercial results.
There have long been suspicions that the search giant manipulates ad prices, and now it's clear that Google treats consumers with the same disdain. The “10 blue links,” or organic results, which Google has always claimed to be sacrosanct, are just another vector for Google greediness, camouflaged in the company's kindergarten colors.
Shout out to the Justice Department for using anti-trust laws for once .
Google likely alters queries billions of times a day in trillions of different variations. Here's how it works. Say you search for “children's clothing.” Google converts it, without your knowledge, to a search for “NIKOLAI-brand kidswear,” making a behind-the-scenes substitution of your actual query with a different query that just happens to generate more money for the company, and will generate results you weren't searching for at all. It's not possible for you to opt out of the substitution. If you don't get the results you want, and you try to refine your query, you are wasting your time. This is a twisted shopping mall you can't escape.
Why would Google want to do this? First, the generated results to the latter query are more likely to be shopping-oriented, triggering your subsequent behavior much like the candy display at a grocery store's checkout. Second, that latter query will automatically generate the keyword ads placed on the search engine results page by stores like TJ Maxx, which pay Google every time you click on them. In short, it's a guaranteed way to line Google's pockets.
rules everything, so this is no surprise
It's unclear how often, or for how long, Google has been doing this, but the machination is clever and ambitious. I have spent decades looking for examples of Google putting its enormous thumb on the scale to censor or amplify certain results, and it hadn't even occurred to me that Google just flat out deletes queries and replaces them with ones that monetize better. Most scams follow an elementary bait-and-switch technique, where the scoundrel lures you in with attractive bait and then, at the right time, switches to a different option. But Google “innovated” by reversing the scam, first switching your query, then letting you believe you were getting the best search engine results. This is a magic trick that Google could only pull off after monopolizing the search engine market, giving consumers the false impression that it is incomparably great, only because you've grown so accustomed to it.
Inshallah, tech giants will all get the Bell treatment. 
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
is there ANY ACTUAL alternative?
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
I'm so happy in the Congogonight 9mo ago #5119719 spent 0 currency on pingsMuch better alternative is this
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
That's some pozzed shit, mate.
darkole.com
brandrewards.com
I guess they need to make their own money too, right?
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
duckduckgo is crappier than goog but not much crappier, and they don't track
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
i'm r-slurred but i'm pretty sure ddg uses google as a backend.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
It uses Bing primarily, but Microsoft only sees your searches in bulk with other DDG users, so there's no individual tracking.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
It uses bing, IIRC.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Yeah, DDG <-- Bing
https://www.searchenginemap.com
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
weboasis.app Is a site I will shill til the end because of how useful they are. It even has a UI dramneurodivergents are likely to appreciate.
Clicking the search box will bring up a list of general search engines of myriad quality.
The buttons below the search box will bring up lists of more specialized resources. Topics vary from downloads/piracy, to streaming, social media, technical resources, books/literature, and a ton of other useful stuff. (The lock and 18+ buttons to the right include porn/private sites)
Top-right hamburger menu will open a full list of their linked sites. In case you don't enjoy pretending you're in the Matrix.
It's not great for going direct from there to what you are looking for. It's strength is cataloging the more-useful specialized resources you can use to then find exactly what you need. The Internet lost a real one with Webby. Thankfully users picked up the torch to carry on.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context