Issues & Insights (I&I) is a terrific conservative website whose writers came from the editorial board of Investors Business Daily. I&I writes smart content that goes after the left, often mercilessly — and, hey, it features PJ Media on its list of recommended websites, so you can see how intelligent I&I is.
One of the key contributors to I&I is cartoonist Michael Ramirez. Even if you don’t know his name, chances are you’ve seen his cartoons. They’re perceptive, thought-provoking, gut-busting, and solidly conservative.
But Google is targeting I&I and Ramirez’s work. Here’s how I&I explains it:
Google’s AdSense network – which is used by some 3.5 million websites to generate revenue – defines “shocking content” as content that:
contains gruesome, graphic, or disgusting accounts or imagery.
depicts acts of violence.
contains a significant amount of or prominently features obscene or profane language.
We appealed this ruling with Google and were denied. No explanation was offered, of course. And there’s no possible way to know what would constitute a “fix” that would satisfy Google.
Referring specifically to Ramirez, I&I’s editors say that “Ramirez’s cartoons can be provocative. They can be hilarious. They can be deadly serious. But they are works of art.” And they’re right. That’s the nature of political cartoons in general, whether they’re from the left or right, but Google is specifically targeting Ramirez.
I&I also highlights some specific articles from its site that Google has targeted. One of them was a poll that the site conducted in conjunction with TIPP Insights examining what registered voters think about President Biden’s mental acuity. Google labeled the piece “dangerous and derogatory.”
“How, exactly, are we supposed to ‘fix’ this to Google’s satisfaction? Change the poll results?” I&I’s editors ask “It’s worth pointing out that our polling partner, TIPP, is a highly respected firm that has had the most accurate forecasts for every presidential election since 2000.”
Google also labeled as “dangerous and derogatory” an article about the Supreme Court decision that ruled that the EPA was overstepping its constitutional boundaries. The editors even guessed which line from the piece could have invoked Google’s ire: “Today’s decision reaffirms that this Supreme Court takes the language and structure of the Constitution seriously and will no longer automatically defer to federal agency statutory interpretations or exertions of broad authority.”
“The bulk of Google’s attacks on our content fall into three categories: politics, the environment, and COVID,” I&I insists. “In other words, the bulk of what we write about is in the tech giant’s crosshairs.”
But then comes a powerful and provocative conclusion: “As we noted in this space recently, we’re not sure anymore if it’s just leftists at Google who are making these decisions, or if the company is working in concert with the Biden administration.”
What’s happening with Issues & Insights isn’t new or surprising; in fact, we’ve heard about Google suppressing conservative content for ages. But it’s hard not to wonder: who’s next? They could go after anybody on the right.
Story cited here.
