In another blow against freedom of speech on the Internet, Fox News is reporting that Google has taken the measure of de-listing the work of an anti-UN blogger named Matthew Lee. For several years, Lee has run the Inner City Press, a small news/opinion site that is focused on criticizing the United Nations. But since Google has teamed up with the UN on recent initiatives, Google has found that Lee's criticism is too much for them to handle.
Mr. Lee has been taking after big targets for a long time, so he is no newcomer to the scene. In 1987 he went after Citigroup with his corruption exposes, but since 2005 the United Nations has been his favorite target. He has especially focused on the "inner workings of what could be called the practical-applications arm of the international organization, the United Nations Development Programme."
As Fox News reports:
Many of Lee's stories were featured prominently whenever Web users looked for news about the U.N. using the powerful Google News search engine, a vital way for media outlets both large and small to get their articles read... But beginning Feb. 13, Google News users could no longer find new stories from the Inner City Press.
After the Government Accountability Project discovered the plight of Inner City Press and raised their own stink about the de-listing, Google claimed that the de-listing was a mistake but that it would take "a couple weeks" to fix the "glitch."
"We acknowledged our misunderstanding ... but it takes time for the restoration to occur," [Google spokesman Gabriel] Stricker said. "The glitch will be resolved as soon as possible. We're working on it."
The GAP, however is none too happy about Google's "glitch." GAP's international-program director Bea Edwards told Fox that Inner City Press was "the most effective and important media organization for UN whistleblowers."
"We're alarmed. The question is, is what user sent the complaint? And it's probably not too hard to guess. We would guess the complaints came from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)."
This isn't something new for Internet organizations like Google, however. Google and other Internet organizations like Newsvine and Digg have been embroiled in efforts to eliminate the conservative voice from the Internet for quite some time.
For instance, Newsvine recently canceled the account of the conservative news/opinion site called The New Media Alliance. And, as Noel Sheppard reported back in May of 2006, the conservative opinion site called The New Media Journal was removed from search engines by Google because Google deemed the commentary site a "hate site."
So, far from being the wild west of opinion, the Internet is seemingly more and more in the grip of leftist organizations that are out to eliminate conservative expression on the net. Add to this the liberals in Congress who want to reinstate the inaptly named "Fairness Doctrine," and we get ominous signs of the left's oppressive ideas of "freedom of speech."
It's just one more example that Jonah Goldberg is right. Liberals are closer to fascists than any conservative.



















Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Blogspot the appendage of Google
February 19, 2008 - 12:08 ET by Lame CherryI would suggest that bloggers here to to blogspot or whatever that Google site is and just start posting the Truth about Google.
I do it all the time without profanity. Is kind of cool having a site owned by Google and you can list their communist dictatorial qualities on their paycheck.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
Google Bias
February 19, 2008 - 12:24 ET by SamIt's been obvious for a long time that Google does business with political bias just like YouTube. Do a simple search on just Bush then do another on just Clinton. Within the 1st page there are a number of "George W Bush or Chimanzee" links but none of the same when you search Clinton. I refuse to use Google - there are other search engines that do just as good a job.
Google - doing the liberals
February 19, 2008 - 15:41 ET by kgGoogle - doing the liberals supression so they don't have to.
Google is doing the
February 19, 2008 - 15:52 ET by NL207Google is doing the "liberals" work? Who are you kidding? The leadership of Google ARE liberals. They are doing their OWN work.
Looks like google fixed the glitch
February 19, 2008 - 12:25 ET by Justin538Timely....
I wonder if anyone is going
February 19, 2008 - 12:33 ET by CortillaenI wonder if anyone is going to come in and try to defend Google's actions with spun air like last time...
www.rhjunior.com Great comics with a hefty dose of Christian and anti-nutjob goodness.
"With your mind as high as Mt. Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things near to you." -Miyamoto Musashi
He is listed right now...
February 19, 2008 - 13:40 ET by mvfreeman...on the main google page http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=inner+city+press
I didn't see the site come up on google news until the 4th or 5th page.But the story from Fox is listed on the 2nd page so people would still be able to find his website.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=united+nations&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&start=10
I think that the claim is
February 19, 2008 - 13:52 ET by Warner Todd HustonI think that the claim is that Inner City News was removed from the Google news aggregator, not completely from Google altogether.
I don't use Google. At
February 19, 2008 - 14:26 ET by ammo johnI don't use Google. At all.
Google is evil...
February 19, 2008 - 15:18 ET by Army BratI stopped using them a while back.
Censorship is un-American and so is Google.
Happy Trails...
Ban Google
February 19, 2008 - 15:49 ET by mattmBan Google
The UN and Google goobers.
February 19, 2008 - 16:55 ET by R D HelmI am not trying to sound overly paranoid here, but I remember the dust up that occurred a while back over the UN suggesting that this country should concede control of the internet over to them.
Given the outcry against their suggestion, perhaps they now are, with Google's duplicity, trying the "back-door" approach.
Just a thought.
Google UN
February 19, 2008 - 23:06 ET by JuanitoVerdeHere's my decent proposal: we should Google every person involved at the UN to his/her country of origin. Once that building is empty, it should be renamed The World Trade Center, and rented out to the highest bidders and used for commerce. I say fooey on the UN and fooey on Google. Why should haters of democracy and especially the US be allowed to occupy that real estate? And make them pay their back parking fines, as well.
Juanito,
February 20, 2008 - 00:17 ET by R D HelmFirst of all, welcome to NewsBusters.
Actually, I would like to see them raze the UN building and turn it into a driving range.
At least it would then be useful real estate, something that tract of land hasn't been for years.
And those UN diplomatic types who have skipped on their parking fines should be forced to be ball collectors until they have worked off their fines.
Hey, does anybody have a
February 19, 2008 - 17:36 ET by Lancasters Saved UsHey, does anybody have a favourite search engine, as I am getting sick of reading about Google policies. It would be nice to not have any use for them.
Dogpile
February 19, 2008 - 17:49 ET by motherbeltI use Dogpile or Yahoo sometimes, but unfortunately it seems Google is the most comprehensive when it comes to finding News. Besides, it's right there on the taskbar...as Zelda Gilroy used to say on the old Dobie Gillis show..."Propinquity!"
(Fair warning: you will be seriously "dating" yourself if you admit to remembering that. LOL)