BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
Google is the predominant
vehicle for research. That
presents key challenges to a
nation in need of objective information.
According to a study
by Pew Research, educators report
that students overwhelmingly
use Google for research,
to the extent that “Research =
Googling.” Teachers told Pew
that 94% of teachers surveyed
said students were likely to
use Google of similar search
engines for their work.
Even a cursory search of
Google results during the 2020
election cycle revealed its prejudices.
USA Today reported that
there was overwhelming evidence
that the Big Tech giant
tilted its results to show those
sites that agreed with its corporate
biases.
Although the organization
has dismissed claims,
and used preexisting algorithms
as an excuse, there are
substantial indicators that it
seeks to manipulate the outcome
of events such as elections,
large and small.
A Consumer Watchdog letter
fi rst reported by Fox Business
News outlined how the
web behemoth sought to mislead
its users by obscuring
relevant material in a state
initiative regarding online
privacy, an issue it had a signifi
cant corporate stake in.
“A search for Prop 24 at
Google serves up a link to the
offi cial voter guide at the Secretary
of State’s website. Most
voters would reasonably assume
this is a link to unbiased
information provided by the
government. Instead, the snippet
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 54 UNE 11-17, 2021 BTR
of text Google includes
with the link is not the title of
the measure, or the nonpartisan
state summary of the measure,
but the “CON” or No on
24 argument…”
The internet research organization
Can I Rank reports
that Google search results
are almost 40% more
likely to contain pages with a
“Left” or “Far Left” result…
Moreover, 16% of political
keywords contained no rightleaning
pages at all within
the fi rst page of results…the
Google algorithm itself may
make it easier for sites with a
left-leaning or centrist viewpoint
to rank higher in Google
search results compared to
sites with a politically conservative
viewpoint.”
A Breitbart review discusse
“The Good Censor,”
an 85-page briefi ng leaked to
Breitbart News, admitting
that under the leadership of
Google and other tech giants,
the internet has moved away
from its original ideals of unfettered
free speech, and towards
a “European” model
of speech that “favors dignity
over liberty and civility over
freedom.”
In 2019, according to mindmatters.
ai. “senior Google engineer
Gregory Coppola contacted
watchdog group Project
Veritas to talk about the
Google bias that affects the
information users get about
political choices… According
to Coppola, Big Tech’s
agenda is dangerous, in large
part, because it is hidden…
widely published behavioral
research psychologist Robert
Epstein (who described
himself as ‘center/center-left’
before a Senate committee)
testifi ed ‘Data I’ve collected
since 2016 show that Google
displays content to the American
public that is biased in favor
of one political party …No
private company should have
either the right or the power to
manipulate large populations
without their knowledge. …If
you were to examine the data
I have been collecting over the
past 6-and-a-half years, every
one of you would put partisanship
aside and collaborate
to reign in the extraordinary
power that Google and Facebook
now wield with unabashed
arrogance.”
There may be another alternative.
Conservatives rightly
objected to the dangers of government
control inherent in
classifying internet providers
as “common carriers.” But,
traveling a path as precise as
threading a needle, a modifi ed
version of the common carrier
concept could be applied without
the overlay of government
control that proponents of the
concept maintain is necessary
for the more physical world
of trains and planes. That
highly modifi ed common carrier
concept could warrant—
without any other government
intrusion, regulation, or oversight–
that monopolistic inter-
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
BY ANDREW CHIRICO
I hope everyone is well,
This is a reminder we have a
primary election on June 22,
2021 polls open at 6:00 AM
& close at 9:00 PM There are
two Republican candidates
running for Mayor. Fernando
Mateo and Curtis
Sliwa. It is very important for
all registered Republicans to
vote in this primary.
Fernando Mateo was born
in 1957 in the Dominican
Republic, the youngest in a
family of ten children, and
grew up on the Lower East
Side of Manhattan. His father,
Kristobal, worked as a
taxi driver and later opened
a bodega, while his mother,
Carmen, was a stay-at-home
mom. He attended Seward
Park High School, but
dropped out at the age of
15. Three years later, in 1976,
he started a carpeting business
which eventually grew
into a multi-million dollar
contracting fi rm.
Curtis Sliwa (born March
26, 1954) is an American activist,
founder and chief executive
offi cer of the Guardian
Angels, radio talk show
host, and politician. Sliwa is
running for mayor of New
York City in the 2021 New
York City mayoral election
as a Republican. Sliwa
was born into a Catholic family
of Polish and Italian descent,
in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
1 He has two sisters. He attended
Brooklyn Prep, a Jesuit
high school and graduated
from Canarsie High
School, a Brooklyn, New
York City public high school.
In his youth, he worked as a
delivery boy for the New York
Daily News, where he was
awarded the title of “Newsboy
of the Year” and a trip
to the White House after he
saved several people from a
burning building while on a
paper route.Prior to founding
the Guardian Angels, he
was night manager of a Mc-
Donald’s restaurant on Fordham
Road in the Bronx.
On the Democrat Ballot
there are 13 candidates running
for Mayor (many candidates
not many choices)
also 5 candidates running
for Bronx Borough President
and in our district there
are 5 candidates running for
City Council. ( as you may
know we are losing our councilman,
Mark Gjonaj has chosen
not to run for re-election.)
Mark Gjonaj will be missed.
It is important to do your
own research into the candidates
and choose the candidate
who will do the best
job. Remember this is the
primary the real election
will be in November. The
primary is your only chance
to eliminate the bad candidates.
Our future is at stake.
We can’t afford another mistake.
We must elect responsible
AMERICANS to run this
city. A candidate who will put
AMERICA FIRST, and who
will respect and support our
police department, stop the
catch and release polices that
have brought crime to record
high levels. A candidate who
will pledge to cut your property
Taxes. A Mayor who will
work with businesses to reopen
(not just talk about it)
if you want New York to survive
and return to a safe City
once again. Research and
make the right choice.
Covid 19– everyone in the
media is encouraging you to
get vaccinated. I want to caution
you to look into the side
effects of the vaccine, it is not
for everyone, and the media
is not telling you the whole
story. Many people have been
harmed by the vaccine. People
have died, others have
been paralyzed and there are
long term effects that no one
is telling you about. Believe
it or not some doctors are
advising not to take the vaccine.
Neighborhood gatherings
are still on hold, You may still
send your $10.00 yearly dues
to Waterbury LaSalle Community
Association, 1145
Hobart Avenue Bronx,N.Y.
10461. Note: We are a 501c 3
charity, which means donations
to Waterbury LaSalle
are tax deductable. Stay well
and Stay safe during this crisis.
We will get through this.
CIVIC CENTER
Waterbury LaSalle
Community
Association
BY TOM CASEY
The Huntington Free Library
and Reading Room is
pleased to announce The East
Bronx History Forum will
hold its 11th Annual Bronx
Antique Road Show at 8 p.m.,
Wednesday, June 16. The Antique
Roadshow has developed
into the most anticipated
event of the year and this year
will be very different, because
we will have a ZOOM Road
Show. The Huntington Free
Library is not ready to open so
members can display items directly
from home.
Members and new guests
have searched their basements,
attic and family collections
with amazing results.
Each year promises
to be the best yet. The East
Bronx History Forum meets
to discuss Bronx History and
held its fi rst meeting in June
2005. The 11th Annual
Bronx Antique
Road Show will be the
forum’s 156th meeting.
All meetings are free
and open to the public. Please
check Facebook and our webpage
BronxNYC.com for Zoom
login information.
Members and guests that
participate in the Antique
Road Show will have one or
two items from their Bronx
collection or family history
available for exhibit and discussion.
The forum welcomes
members who have a historical
item or old item from their
personal collection. The members
will talk about how they
acquired the item, its age and
its connection to history. Participants
can also display, photograph
or scan an image for
discussion. Please contact the
Forum to let us know what you
intend to talk about.
This will be the last
monthly meeting of the season,
with the East Bronx History
Forum returning on September
15. The EBHF leads
walking tours during the
summer months when there
are no meetings. View the
East Bronx History Forum on
Facebook and at BronxNYC.
com Please join us at 8 p.m.
on Wednesday, June 16.
CIVIC CENTER
East Bronx
History Forum
Image of a 1963 Fredomland
ride ticket. File photo
courtesy of East Bronx History
Forum File photo
courtesy of East Bronx History
Forum
/BronxNYC.com