IPFS News Link • Censorship
What happened when privacy-minded search engine DuckDuckGo vowed to down-rank Russian misinformation
• Technical.lyAs the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has continued to intensify over the last few weeks, misinformation has percolated throughout online spaces.
Misinformation, which uses false information to deliberately mislead or deceive, is nearly a constant in 2022. It was a pivotal part of the 2016 and 2020 elections, has played into the spread of COVID-19, and is running rampant as Europe sees its biggest conflict since World War II.
And on Wednesday, Gabe Weinberg, CEO of Paoli-headquartered, privacy-focused internet browser DuckDuckGo, announced on Twitter the company was doing something about it. In a short thread, he explains that the company stands with Ukrainians, and has rolled out "search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation." The company also continues to place news modules and information boxes at the top of its search results that highlight "quality information" for quickly unfolding topics.
Like so many others I am sickened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create. #StandWithUkraine?
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
At DuckDuckGo, we've been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation.



