The search engine DuckDuckGo will be down-ranking sites that spread Russian propaganda and disinformation. In a tweet, founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg wrote that the privacy-focused search engine would be releasing updates that would ensure Russian disinformation sites rank further down in search results. Earlier this month, DuckDuckGo announced it would its relationship with Russian-state owned search engine Yandex.
Even if it’s for the right reasons, putting a thumb on the scales of search results is an uncharacteristic move for the Pennsylvania-based search company. Unlike Google and major social media platforms, DuckDuckGo has neglected to filter out misleading content on or . A number of platforms the Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram have started to demote posts from Russian state media. Google has been down-ranking from Russian state news agencies since 2017.
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