审计搜索结果发现，巴以冲突相关查询被严重个性化
Digital Gatekeeping: An Audit of Search Engine Results shows tailoring of queries on the Israel-Palestine Conflict
- 用隐私保护工具对比三款引擎的搜索结果差异
- 同一查询结果因位置和浏览历史差异显著，冲突相关查询更个性化
- 结果不中立，可能加剧观点极化，适合关注信息公平者阅读
搜索引擎常被视为可靠的信息入口，但其基于用户偏好、位置等定制化算法在敏感话题上可能限制多元观点呈现，加剧观点极化。为检验这种定制程度，我们聚焦巴以冲突，开发了一款隐私保护工具，对DuckDuckGo、Google和Yahoo三款引擎进行审计。研究聚焦两个问题：(1) 同一冲突相关查询在不同用户间的结果差异如何？(2) 结果是否受用户位置和浏览历史影响？结果显示，基于位置和浏览偏好的定制化显著，远超以往对一般话题的轻微个性化；冲突相关查询的定制程度高于无关查询，且结果在冲突表述上不中立。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Search engines, often viewed as reliable gateways to information, tailor search results using customization algorithms based on user preferences, location, and more. While this can be useful for routine queries, it raises concerns when the topics are sensitive or contentious, possibly limiting exposure to diverse viewpoints and increasing polarization. To examine the extent of this tailoring, we focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict and developed a privacy-protecting tool to audit the behavior of three search engines: DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo. Our study focused on two main questions: (1) How do search results for the same query about the conflict vary among different users? and (2) Are these results influenced by the user's location and browsing history? Our findings revealed significant customization based on location and browsing preferences, unlike previous studies that found only mild personalization for general topics. Moreover, queries related to the conflict were more customized than unrelated queries, and the results were not neutral concerning the conflict's portrayal.
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