Rumors have begun to re-surge that Google is about to buy-out Digg. Although the story’s initial appeal is that an Internet giant is about to swallow up an internet sweetheart, the real intrigue lies in what this means for the future of traditional news outlets and, as a result, the watchdog of democracy.

Essentially, when GOOG digests Digg, they are goind to do so by making Digg a part of Google News. As Techcrunch reports:

Google’s on and off negotiations with Digg have been back on in a big way for the last six weeks, we’ve heard from multiple sources inside and outside of Google. The two companies have reportedly signed a letter of intent and are close to a deal that will bring Digg under the Google News property. [emphasis my own]

On the one hand, this makes perfect sense because Digg is a kind of user-generated news portal that crowdsources newsworthiness. On the other hand, it’s kind of creepy because it brings Google that much closer to its future manifestation that’s prophecized in the infamous Epic 2014 video (embedded at the end of this post).

Even creepier is how these rumors surface short on the heels of Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, telling an audience of entertainment executives and advertisers that (1) newspapers are important to democracy, but (2) they’re future isn’t so rosy. As a recent LA Times article reported (hat tip Mitch Joel):

The outlook for newspapers […] is “bleak,” and Schmidt said that’s “a tragedy,” in part because “investigative reporting is so important for democracy.”

The creepy factor, here, lies in that Google seems to appreciate the role that the news media plays in democracy, but is nevertheless working toward an end that will pretty shut the news media out of existence. Granted, the cat’s out of the bag, and if Google doesn’t do it, someone else will.

But that doesn’t change the fact that this is perfectly in line with conspiracy theories such as the Google master plan and other pseudo-Orwellian scenarios that Google is often accused of working toward. In the least, it’s cause to question the de fact Google mantra of “Don’t be evil.”

Epic 2014 Video

Google Master Plan Video

Originally posted here:
Will Google Kill Democracy?

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