Whitehall to train pro-West Islamic groups to game Google

Chris Williams
The Register
Thursday, April 9, 2009

Whitehall officials will train pro-West Islamic groups to manipulate their Google search ranking in an attempt to drown out extremist voices online, The Register has learned.

The policy is being developed despite recent warnings from a group of international experts on radicalisation that such strategies are likely to be “largely ineffectual”.

The Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT), a 200-strong Home Office unit created 18 months ago, has said in meetings it wants to “flood the internet” with “positive” interpretations of Islam. It plans to train government-approved groups in search engine optimisation techniques, which it’s hoped will boost their profile online and battle radicalisation.

Organisations such as Quilliam, which describes itself as “the world’s first counter-extremism think tank” and is jointly led by former radical Ed Husain, have been identified as potential beneficiaries of the work. A spokesman for the group declined to comment.

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Officials are currently understood to be in the early stages of the programme.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed search engine optimisation training is part of the government’s anti-radicalisation strategy. “In order to support mainstream voices, we work with local partners to help develop their communication, representational and leadership skills,” he said.

“This support could include media training, which can help make their voices heard more widely, and support the development of skills which allow communities to be more effective in debate.”

The effectiveness of search engine optimisation in reducing traffic to extremist websites has been dismissed by academics however. In March, a report produced by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) said young Muslims were much more likely to be directed to extremist material online by web forums and offline associates than by Google or other search engines.

Full story here.

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