We are not the same: How web search engines shape memory about Holocaust perpetrators and survivors

Makhortykh, Mykola; Urman, Aleksandra; Ulloa, Roberto; Sydorova, Maryna (2023). We are not the same: How web search engines shape memory about Holocaust perpetrators and survivors (Unpublished). In: MSA. Newcastle, UK. 3-7 July 2023.

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Web search engines, such as Google and Yandex, have a major influence on individual and collective remembrance. By selecting what historical sources and interpretations to prioritise to their users, search engines shape how individuals perceive not only the present but also past aspects of our social reality. The degree to which algorithms powering the search engines are capable to deal with ethical aspects of representing the past, in particular in the context of victims and perpetrators of mass atrocities, remains understudied, in particular considering the potential of these algorithms to be subjected to non-systematic errors (e.g. retrieval of erroneous outputs) and systematic bias (e.g. prioritisation of denialist or offensive content in response to specific queries).

This uncertainty raises a number of questions, such as whether there are differences in the types of information sources that are prioritised by the search engines, particularly those who are more likely to misrepresent the victims and perpetrators? Is there a variation in the quality of information (e.g. in terms of historical accuracy) retrieved by search algorithms in relation to particular individuals? And is there a tendency to focus on particular aspects of individuals' stories and how much such a focus is influenced by the system-side factors of web search (e.g. randomisation of search outputs).

To address these questions, the paper looks at the results of a series of virtual agent-based algorithmic audits conducted in 2021 and 2022 for a selection of Western and non-Western search engines. Using a combination of qualitative content analysis and historical analysis, it examines the top 10 text search outputs for a set of queries dealing with prominent Holocaust survivors (e.g. Simon Wiesenthal) and perpetrators (e.g. Odilo Globocnik). Specifically, it looks at the types of sources prioritised by individual search engines in relation to the queries as well as what aspects of individual stories are prioritised by the search outputs.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Institute of Communication and Media Studies (ICMB)
UniBE Contributor:	Makhortykh, Mykola, Urman, Aleksandra, Sydorova, Maryna
Subjects:	000 Computer science, knowledge & systems 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology 900 History 900 History > 940 History of Europe
Language:	English
Submitter:	Mykola Makhortykh
Date Deposited:	13 Nov 2023 07:48
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2023 07:48
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Holocaust, search engines, algorithm, algorithm audit, artificial intelligence, victim, perpetrator, memory, representation
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/188821