Google's pro-Muslim algorithms
After many years, Texas imam Omar Suleiman has successfully lobbied Google into changing the algorithm used to find results on Muslim-related issues. According to the state-run Turkish news Anadolu Agency, Google's results about queries related to Islam or Muslims in the past produced "what many criticized as propaganda from hate groups" and "alleged disinformation." In contrast, now "Google's first page results for searches of terms such as 'jihad,' 'sharia' and 'taqiyya' return mostly reputable explanations of Islamic concepts."
The globalization of Western society has created a distinct clash of cultures. Even though Google claims that it will not silence views that are unpopular or unsavory, its tampering with the algorithm at all is proof enough that the platform itself is not free, nor is our speech on it. My fear is that the suppression of free speech will create a world like that described in Milton's Areopagitica: "We boast our light; but if we look not wisely on the run itself, it smites us into darkness."
