Illusions of plenty: the role of search engines in the structure and suppression of knowledge

This paper explores aspects of how publicly accessible Web search engine database content is edited and shaped. It includes an exploration of search engine publicly espoused procedures and policies on content and speculates on what remains unstated. It includes a discussion of the related technological and programmatic issues involved in the preprocessing and filtering of information. Questions of whether the policies and mechanisms can be used as devices to shape content are raised and possible areas of censorship are explored. The paper offers examples of obvious and subtle content shaping and gatekeeping and raises issues for future consideration. It also includes a perspective information naivete within the social and intellectual setting in which the shaping of the data occurs. It includes comments on the possible implications for scholars as well as for independent learners.