CORRECTION: Wired have deleted this story because they got it greviously wrong. Corrections rarely have the impact of the original story but this one is categorically wrong.

"Here’s how it works. Say you search for “children’s clothing.” Google converts it, without your knowledge, to a search for “NIKOLAI-brand kidswear,” making a behind-the-scenes substitution of your actual query with a different query that just happens to generate more money for the company, and will generate results you weren’t searching for at all. It’s not possible for you to opt out of the substitution."

I suppose it's predictable but I feel like everything I've used on the Internet has just publicly turned to dirt in the last 18 months.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-antitrust-lawsuit-search-results/

A Note From WIRED Leadership

WIRED

@neilcar

This actually explains a lot. Google's engineering is usually really good and I'd wondered how it could get this bad this fast.

@suetanvil One thing that working in corporations has taught me is that I can normally reverse-engineer your key performance indicators (KPIs) from your outcomes -- people tend to do exactly what they're being paid the most to do.