BISS: Investigation online

This new course focuses on addressing the biases inherent in Google's algorithms, which often favor popular content over lesser-known material. This issue is vital for journalists to grasp, as it significantly influences the accessibility and representation of information.

Throughout the course, we will examine the mechanisms behind these biases and understand why they occur. Once we have critically analyzed Google, we will develop strategies to address these biases. This will include advanced search techniques such as Google Dorks, thinking like a document, and utilizing some AI methods.

This course equips journalists with the necessary tools to ensure that their research is not influenced by algorithmic biases, allowing for a more balanced and comprehensive presentation of information.

Your lecturer: 

Henk Van Ess is an assessor of Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network and its European counterpart EFCSN. And he is visiting professor AI/Osint at Walter Cronkite Institute in Phoenix. Henk is obsessed with finding stories in (big) data. His specialisations include social media and data journalism. As an author, he has published books in Dutch, French, German, English and Italian about Google, data journalism, web research, and fantastic Facebook formulas (Center for investigative journalism).