In response to Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election, Google is deranking Russian news outlets Russia Today and Sputnik in its search algorithms. Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt revealed the decision at the Halifax International Security Forum while speaking on the topic of misinformation, BBC reported Tuesday.
Google's move would de-prioritize Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, both funded by the Russian government, in search algorithms, making it less likely for users to see their content via search. Although RT claims to be an independent editorial operation, it is generally considered to be a form of propaganda for the country.
Schmidt did not share a timeline for the move. He was referring to ongoing efforts to improve search quality and not concrete plans, according to a Google spokesperson. Google clarified that the company does not alter its algorithms to re-rank sites individually.
At the event, Schmidt added that it's not a form of censorship — rather, he likened it to an editorial decision.
"I am strongly not in favor of censorship. I am very strongly in favor of ranking. It's what we do," Schmidt said, according to BBC. "It's a very legitimate question as to how we rank, A or B, right? And we do the best we can in millions and millions of rankings every day."
RT and Sputnik editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan criticized Google's decision.
"Good to have Google on record as defying all logic and reason: facts aren't allowed if they come from RT, 'because Russia' — even if we have Google on Congressional record saying they've found no manipulation of their platform or policy violations by RT," Simonyan said in a statement published on RT.
Last month, Twitter made a similar move, banning news outlets RT and Sputnik from advertising with any of their accounts. Following an internal investigation of Russian interference, Twitter had discovered RT spent $274,100 in U.S. ads in 2016 and promoted 1,823 tweets.
The organizations can still tweet organically as long as they abide by the terms and conditions, but they can't put money behind tweets to promote them to a certain audience.
Of course, users can always seek out content from them by going directly to their website or other channels.
This post was updated with a statement from Google.
