Google bombing is one of many online guerilla tactics for political campaigning but it is much more fearsome in name than it is in action, as French presidential candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande recently discovered.
The Wiktionary gives a simple definition of a Google bomb:
An attempt to influence the ranking of a webpage within the Google search engine by linking to it from many other sources.
Until recently, here were the search results for the terms “incapable de gouverner” (incompetent to govern) and “on va tuer la France” (France is going to be killed).
Search result for "incapable de gouverner" (incompetent to govern)
- Search result for “on va tuer la France” (France is going to be killed)
The bombings themselves had very little impact, except for search term spikes and some media coverage. They were not official campaign tactics, and were probably initiated by isolated sympathizers on either side. The goal, by linking a negative search term to the candidate’s campaign or party website, was to smear them. But there are several reasons why these two main candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy to the right and François Hollande to the left, were Google bombed to no avail.
First, the term ‘bomb’ is somewhat misleading. Google bombing is an internet practice that artificially pulls up a desired search result by linking to it from many other web pages, not some massive virus or hacking that implies major damage for a person’s website. It is therefore a much smaller and more futile attempt than, say, a denial-of-service attack, which entirely prevents users from accessing your website.
Manipulating Google’s search algorithm in order to smear a political persona can be effective – anybody who’s ever googled “Santorum” knows as much (even though this wasn’t a Google bombing per se, it had an important aftermath).
But matters never reached those proportions in this French case. Although it is a cheap and easy way of attempting to criticize a candidate, it is quite limited. Very few people are actually going to Google such artificial and convoluted search terms as “incompetent to govern” or “France is going to be killed,” which means the bombing achieves a comic effect at best, and goes completely unnoticed at worst.
Google bombing does not deny access to a candidate’s website or information. More importantly, it is a mere hint of a criticism, not a constructed argument. This means that although opponents of either candidate will find it amusing, undecided voters who happen to stumble upon the Google bombing won’t be swayed by it.
Google bomb? More like Google pschiiit.
Geeking the Elysée 