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Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A researcher at a high-profile Washington, D.C.-think tank, which receives funding from Google, was pushed out after criticizing the company. In June, Barry Lynn, who was a scholar at New America, posted a statement praising the European Union's record $2.7 billion fine against the company. Lynn ran a team, Open Markets, that researched competition policy and was increasingly critical of giants like Google and Amazon. Google executive chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt, criticized Lynn's statement to the think tank's CEO, Anne-Marie Slaughter, according to The New York Times. Schmidt chaired New America until 2016. The think tank has received $21 million from Google and Schmidt's family's foundation since its founding in 1999. The statement reportedly disappeared from the think tank website but returned hours later. According to the Times, word of Schmidt's displeasure spread across the think tank. Slaughter fired Lynn days later, saying in an email obtained by the Times that "the time has come for Open Markets and New America to part ways." Slaughter told Lynn in an email that his firing was "in no way based on the content of your work," but said he was "imperiling the institution as a whole." Lynn told the Times he believed his dismissal was because he criticized Google.
Google: let's be evil.
"the time has come for Open Markets and (New) America to part ways."
Apart from the spelling error (either America or "the New World"), I'd mod this a slow news day...
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
Win stupid prizes.
So Google fires a Nazi for giving them bad publicity. So what? They're a private company. They can do what they want. Especially with Nazis.
Oy vey! It's anudda Shoah, I tells ya! Anudda Shoah!
The so called think-tanks are institutions for lobbyism and public opinion manipulation in favor of the funding company. In other word a propaganda machines. Lynn didn't do what he iwas payed to do and got fired. Stop pretending like his job was to be objective in the first place.
sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
So is It not obvious that if you attack your primary sponsor, you're going to run out of money fast? I mean, the dog is smart enough to not bite me.
I think it's pretty good marketing for the New America Foundation. This is a fairly inexpensive way to tell the whole world that they'll think whatever they're paid to.
A comma is NOT necessary just because the subject consists of more than one word. Fuckheads.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
You say what you're paid to say, or you'll be defunded and/or fired.
This is why nothing can be trusted these days. Every "independent" body is funded by somebody and all "independent" research reaches a conclusion in advance and then tries to produce data to prove the conclusion. If you reach any other conclusion, then it's bye bye.
He who pays the piper calls the tune.
Pretty mild to get just dumped, if it is just that. No other consequences?
Looking at turkey, someone "thinks" it would be good to get rid of someone, just call him/her a terrorist.
Brave new world....
You want the company that provides funding to part ways with your organization?
At what point when funding goes away does the org cease to exist?
no matter how good it is, it is human nature always wants to make things better
The Clinton voters, when not pleasuring themselves over the images of all innocent Humans they helped slaughter in Libya and Syrai on behalf of Saudi Arabia, will cheer this act by Google from the rooftops.
What is Google? The inevitable evolution of the computer arm of the military industrial complex. After decades, and trillions of dollars, the NSA was going nowhere in its biggest projects. Each new computer facility was late, over budget, totally non-scalable, poorly functioning at spec, and impossible to upgrade. A new idea tracked the rise of the microprocessor and then the Internet- namely to perfect NSA computer techs in the civilian sector. Thus was born Google.
Everything Google does in the civilian sector has direct and esential use in the military and intelligence sectors. Shadow Googles, computer facilities built using Google hardware and software designs, form the backbone of all NSA and GCHQ work. And now Google is working on its biggest project- the so-called drone tank initiative.
Google is beloved by all warmongers in the USA- both the neo-liberals of the fake left, and the neo-cons of the fake right. And Google, being a Deep State creation, operates above the law. That's why people who want the easiest access to 'pirate' material go look for it at Google's Youtube, for instance.
In the civlian sector, Google's philosophy is to be so 'useful' ntohing else matters. The scum will try to pretend that isn't so, but Facebook kinda gave the game away, since Facebook is the same, yet no-one tries to even defend Facebook.
Google's real motto is "do the most perfect evil".
Stop pretending like his job was to be objective in the first place.
Maybe he was there or thought he was there to have a critical voice to make their "findings" look legitimate. You know, because:
The so called think-tanks are institutions for lobbyism and public opinion manipulation in favor of the funding company. In other word a propaganda machines.
isn't this how markets work?
I feel like there is a distinct failure to recognize the fundamental problems behind the theory of the free market.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Will you stay down on your knees?
that feeds you. A very old saying. You work at a google sponsored lobby firm, remember who pays your check.
If this is the result of manipulation from Google, then Google is Evil. Along with all of their products - like Android.
The only way the people at this think tank could retain even an iota of credibility is to disband the think tank and start afresh, or to come clean and admit they advance the causes of their corporate donors. They've done neither and really shot themselves in the foot.
Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
Soon it will be all you can do anyway.
Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
It is no surprise that most Think Tanks are located in D.C. They are lobbying organizations. Such BS.
So it seems that "Do No Evil" doesn't quite have a home in Google!
...but not a separate category.
Conservatives love to point out that 75% (or some such) of journalists "lean left" or "identify as liberal" or whatever. It's rarely noted that the people who hire and fire them "lean" way, way conservative. This leaves the journalists "leaning left" inside an Overton Window that's well right of centre. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...)
The Overton Window of this private research group (Isn't "think tank" overdue for the dumpster?) has just been given a clear left-hand frame that's a ways to right of its old position.
But you can't say this group "lacks credibility" in a world where the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute still get on TV, and revolve employees in and out of government jobs in order to cut & paste their papers into legislation that passes. They have enormously more "credibility" than you do.
"Think tanks" were supposed to be who you called to avoid things like groupthink and confirmation bias within your own organization.
Now they are who you call when you want to be told what you want to hear.
No heterogeneity of thought is allowed.
So this was not actually a think tank, this organization was a tax deductible way for Google to shill and lobby for it's policies covertly. This kind of conflict of interest with charitable donations should be scrutinized hard by the federal government. It is likely that Google owes tax on every dollar sent to this institution since they are clearly a Google proxy, and not an independent entity. The think tank should probably also lose any tax benefits it has and be re-categorized as a lobbying organization.
If you disagree, please post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like
Awesome! Let's have official Google Asshole Shawn Willden tell us what a Good Thing this is!!
"the time has come for Open Markets and (New) America to part ways."
Apart from the spelling error (either America or "the New World")...
"New America" is the name of the think-tank.
don't bite the feeding hand... (at least till you find a new hand lol...)
Good for Schmidt. The EU decision is classic straightforward protectionist bullshit.
Think-Alike Tank.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Google isn't interested in diversity of opinion. Group think is what they're all about now.
For those who don't know - think tanks are basically evangelizers, they are hired and paid for government lobbying. Specially if they are located in DC.
It's like having your high level 3rd party marketing team making public statements and celebrating that your company was successfully sued. In their official page, no less.
This isn't even backroom talk, it's basically doing the opposite you were hired for.
"the time has come for Open Markets and New America to part ways,”
Really! And only so recently?! I would swear that the "New" America parted ways with "Open Markets" some time back.
My guess Barry didn't give leadership heads up before publishing.
His critical may have been ok or needed some subtle modification, leadership don't like to be caught with their pants down
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Guy writes critical article of the main investor of the company, gets fired. News at 11.
"life is a joke, and someone is laughing at me"
Careful what we are saying. Heads keeps rolling everywhere.