Dec 15, 2016 01:07 AM EST By Julia Ramirez, UniversityHerald Reporter

Google's search engine's processes have long been an interesting study among scholars. Researchers have prodded the company to share its principles and ideologies on identifying how it provides users information. With its lack of transparency, the digital era has never experienced the influence of careless misinformation and that users delegate their critical thinking to information that is being served on the web.

In an interview by the Guardian, Google acknowledged to negative news by responding and then withdrawing insulting autosuggest results for specific search queries. Google suggests "jews are evil" when a user enters in "jews are" before suggesting links to numerous right-wing antisemitic hate sites.

This concern has also influenced the controversy regarding the misinformation fiasco  regarding the US general election. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, discussed this media controversy. He confessed that the main problem involves structural issues. Facebook financially rewards fake news and sensationalism that is spread through the social network without considering the impact or its truthfulness. Facebook does not determine whether reporting is erroneous not does it even identify fake news from satire.

Business Insider UK reports that during the US presidential election, legitimate news stories are even overshadowed by fake news stories that are even spread by some famous media companies. A tool that monitored Facebook report that the top 20 fake news stories obtained more engagements compared with 20 news stories that were real.  

The big social network is solving the problem that it started. Its step is on the development of algorithmic solutions that can evaluate the content's trustworthiness. However, Facebook is not utilizing its broad scope in promoting literacy in media, nor does it motivate users to identify or critically determine social problems with what they read or share.

This strategy is believed to have dangerous, long-term consequences in social terms. This implies that Facebook will be training its users to outsource their critical thinking to the algorithm of computers. Moreover, it defeats the purpose of utilizing 21^st-century digital skills. These include reflective judgment on how technology is leading relationships and beliefs.

The dynamics that Google and Facebook has created for users has forced people to utilize critical thinking. Users do not lack intelligence when they believe fake news. However, users are conditioned to believe into what they are led to believe.

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