Chinese State Media Forging Evidence to Denounce Google?

In recent weeks, there have been signs of a rise in Internet censorship in China, including the controversial Green Dam filtering software.

And now, China’s state-run media appear to be launching a campaign against Google. But some of their claims have been questioned.

Last week, a program on state-run CCTV claimed that Google’s „suggest“ function, which suggests phrases involving the searched term, exposes people to pornography.

On CCTV, a televised Google search for the word „son“ was showing to „suggest“ an incest-related phrase.

Search terms are recommended based on their popularity. But, according to the New York Times, the phrase shown on CCTV had not been a popular search term until just days before the program aired.

Data showed a sudden spike of searches for that phrase in Beijing, which may have increased the likelihood that the phrase would appear on the show.

As part of the same program, CCTV interviewed a university student who complained that Google’s content was harmful.

Chinese netizens later found that the university student was actually a CCTV intern, and a backlash grew against the state broadcaster.

And, in a strange twist, the intern has himself become a censored term. A Google search for this intern’s name says, „In accordance with local laws and regulations, your search results cannot be displayed.“

(NTDTV)