Submission + - Google Suggest censors a world-top-10 blog
orzetto writes: Beppe Grillo, operator of one of the top 10 blogs worldwide, reports that the Italian version of Google is hiding his name from the tooltips that appear automatically as one is writing a search term ("Google Suggest"). Much less known Beppes appear in the list (such as TV host Bigazzi, journalist Severgnini and a dozen of others), but Grillo's tooltip is absent even when writing his name in full.
Whereas the article claims that also others, such as Sabina Guzzanti and Marco Travaglio, were hidden in the same way, this does not seem to be the case to me (I am browsing from Italy right now). Grillo's name has been censored only from the Italian version of Google, google.it, not google.com where he is present and is actually ranking close to the top. This leads to some oddities: despite the fact that "Grillo" (which is a common Genoese surname) means "cricket", there is no Google-Suggest hit for it, whereas e.g. "formica" (ant) and other insects have plenty. Even Pinocchio's talking cricket ("grillo parlante") seems to have been censored as collateral damage. Note, however, that entering "Beppe Grillo" by yourself will report his blog among the search results.
Beppe Grillo, who is politically very active, has been at odds with the Italian political establishment for years now, and his blog was likely the main target of a draconian law proposal previously discussed here; the proposal was later retracted.
Whereas the article claims that also others, such as Sabina Guzzanti and Marco Travaglio, were hidden in the same way, this does not seem to be the case to me (I am browsing from Italy right now). Grillo's name has been censored only from the Italian version of Google, google.it, not google.com where he is present and is actually ranking close to the top. This leads to some oddities: despite the fact that "Grillo" (which is a common Genoese surname) means "cricket", there is no Google-Suggest hit for it, whereas e.g. "formica" (ant) and other insects have plenty. Even Pinocchio's talking cricket ("grillo parlante") seems to have been censored as collateral damage. Note, however, that entering "Beppe Grillo" by yourself will report his blog among the search results.
Beppe Grillo, who is politically very active, has been at odds with the Italian political establishment for years now, and his blog was likely the main target of a draconian law proposal previously discussed here; the proposal was later retracted.
