Friday, March 20, 2015

Google is Beginning to Really Piss Me Off

And I'm a big-time Google fanboy. I have two Chromeboxes and a Chromebook. KN@PPSTER runs on Google's blog hosting. I use and love Gmail. And as much as I try to diversify my search engine use, it's simple fact that when I need the best and most fine-grained results, Google delivers.

But Google AdSense is messing with Antiwar.com. And having been called out on it, instead of correcting themselves they've apparently decided to double down.

Their bottom line demand seems to be for Antiwar.com to takes the rough edges off its news coverage and prettify everything so that nobody finds war, war crimes and war atrocities "disturbing." Otherwise, Google AdSense will keep the site shut out of its advertising program.

First things first: Please donate to Antiwar.com. Yes, I know they just wrapped their quarterly fundraiser, but now they've had a major revenue stream cut off and it's going to take time to replace. If nothing else, if you can, please match the $5 donation I just made.

As for second things, nothing short of unconditional surrender by Google is acceptable.

Even assuming, as I think it's safe to, that Antiwar.com won't be going back to AdSense, this is just plain wrong and evil.

Do you think AdSense would pull this kind of shit on, say, CNN or Fox News (if those networks carry Google ads -- I haven't bothered to check)? Not a chance.

In fact, when it comes to gore and "disturbing" violence, nothing on Antiwar.com can hold a candle to the stuff that regularly appears on Google's very own, heavily ad-monetized, YouTube service.

I really, really, really hate to even contemplate what it will take me to get away from Google. But I am contemplating it.

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