The Google search function comes with a handy helper. Typically, when you begin to type in search terms, a drop down window will appear to provide helpful suggestions, based on the search terms Google users are typing in most often.
I mention this, because a couple of days ago, typing the word "climate" into the window resulted in "climate hack" and "climate emails" popping up near the top of the handy helper suggestion list.
Today, Google's handy helper seems to have had a change of heart.

I tried a stronger hint...

Maybe my eyes deceived me. Maybe no one out there was searching for "climate emails" after all?

The same non-thing happens with "climate hack".
I know you're asking the same question I am - has Google been hijacked by the folks at Wikipedia....?
Update: Several commentors using google.com are reporting their search bars are behaving like mine was yesterday. I've been using google.ca the whole time, so I still can't explain the change in behavior.
Posted by Kate at November 24, 2009 5:42 PMKate you don't miss a thing.
Wouldn't it put it past Wikipedia zealots to try and do their part to pretend that this is all much ado about nothing.
Posted by: TJ at November 24, 2009 6:16 PMunbelievable!!
Talk about The Powers That Be!
Interesting. Climate gate doesn't come up with any quick links.
To bad since there about 3000 stories on the subject.
Posted by: Interesting at November 24, 2009 6:18 PMIf Google is deliberately blocking this search (hiding), perhaps a boycott is in order. Ring for Bing, at least it's an alternative search engine.
Posted by: ken bc at November 24, 2009 6:20 PMI got to Cli before I got Climate emails. Maybe difference between US and Canadian Google searches?
Posted by: CanuckInMI at November 24, 2009 6:25 PMNot a surprise Al Gore works with Google
http://www.algore.com/about.html
a Senior Advisor to Google, Inc
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/10/15/al-gore-advised-google-about-its-search-quality
Al Gore Advised Google About 'Search Quality'
This is sad.
Posted by: Interesting at November 24, 2009 6:26 PMI was searching on Google.ca every day.
Posted by: Kate at November 24, 2009 6:31 PMBTW: How rich is Wikipedia talking about "reliable sources", huh?
I certainly got a chuckle out of it.
Posted by: mojo at November 24, 2009 6:33 PMyou bet . . I got to clim and the first option was Climategate.
They can only hide for so long . . . CBC is still holding out.
Posted by: Fred at November 24, 2009 6:34 PMYep...got the same result here---Southern Ontario.
IT'S ALL A COMMUNIST PLOT!!!
These creeps a now dug in so deep we will have to use flame-throwers and bunker busters.
I emailed PMSH and my MP to boycott Copenhagen---not even send a janitor.
I'm off topic I'm afraid, but I noticed this comment in an article in the Daily Mail:
● At least half the 36 UK officials and ministers travelling to the climate change talks in Copenhagen are going by air rather than by rail.
Think of that. THIRTY SIX officials and ministers from the UK alone are going to Copenhagen for the big socialist orgy, half of them flying in those horrible evil planet-warming jets.
Link here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1230635/Scientist-climate-change-cover-storm-told-quit.html
Add to that the so-called scientists from CRU and elsewhere, multiplied by 50+ countries, and goodness knows how many will attend this religious gathering of crooks and con artists.
Unbelievable!! What nature of beast is this hopy changy temperature hoax? How many outfits are 'all in'? Begs the question: how could 'they' be so stupid? Some of these media types should read the children's stories - with lessons - that they must have missed in state indoctrination day cares. Henny Penny, Little Red Riding Hood (don't trust friendly wolves), Three Little Pigs...and some heavy reading in Hans Christian Anderson and Grimm's Fairy Tales.
Well, as Ron and Kelowna said days before this story broke: "The Truth will out". And so it did. Too bad for your luck, band wagoners; you can't stuff the truth back inside the bag; people never wanted to pay for hot air...only those heavily invested in the success of this hoax are going to be denying the truth.
So what is up with the msm? Afraid of Google or the on line dictionary; the wrath of Unca Mo/the American President/Canadian troika 'coup group' and their Bolsheviks?
Cowering in a hole in Iraq, 'he ' denied his crown was lost and that all his 'friends' had abandoned him.
Not many leftos will fund a fraud that has been proven false for the joy of supporting a joke that carries no guilt to the people they had been on board to fleece. Nopy Dopy, this melt down is a huge relief to most people. And nopy, dopy; the genie will not go back in the bottle.
Posted by: Jema54 at November 24, 2009 6:42 PMSearching on google.com will deliver suggestions such as climategate, climate hoax, and climate emails. Searching on google.ca won't give these options.
It seems the Chinese government aren't the only internet censors.
Posted by: Warm in Florida at November 24, 2009 7:06 PMRe Wikitalk, it's It's instructive to watch see warmists fighting their propaganda war in a glass room. They're doing everything they can to keep facts off the page if the facts are harmful to the AGW promoters. Statements from credible sources, including warmists who are critical of the Hadly crew, are deemed "moot" or "cherry-icked" or "not notable" or "not neutral".
So much Stalin-like behaviour, so little time to point it out. A couple of notable points:
1. Bloggers and newspaper op-eds are the two sources who are really digging into this story and shedding new light on it with each passing hour; the Wiki-rulers are trying to exclude these sources, in the interest of relying on the source that is most notably NOT covering this story - the MSM. In effect, they're extemporaneously using the media's lack of coverage as an excuse for their own cover up. Examples:
"I've taken quite a strict line on using blogs in this article, of any political complexion....If prominent bloggers' comments are quoted by mainstream sources then fair enough, but..."
"Ultimately, we have to go by what reliable secondary sources publish - the Washington Post, CNN, BBC, etc....We may not, and should not, try to analyze a primary source...We have to wait on the journalists and researchers to do that. As they report, we summarize their reporting..."
"As long as we stick to what major news outlets are saying (minus blogs and op-eds) we should be fine."
2. The Wiki-Tzars, remarkably, are trying to forbid links to the *actual source material*, for reasons they're pulling out of their....hats. Chris O, for example, in an attempt to justify his request that editors to refrain from linking to the leaked files, quotes Wikipedia's policy on...."creators' copyright." - as if the researchers copyrighted their emails. Stephan Schultz tries to reason with them: "Apart from your nonsensical misinterpretation of the material, public domain is a legal concept......It's well-established that the government cannot use secrecy claims to prosecute people who spread already available material, even if it originally was obtained illegally by a third party."
Tom Perkins further points out the absurd, case-by-case inconsistency of the Wiki editors: "The Pentagon Papers were Top Secret, discussing them or being in possession of them without authorization was treason--they were emphatically not public domain--yet their release is held to be the sine qua non of whistleblowing. Whistleblowing is certainly now a legally protected activity. The CRU emails contain what are now involuntary and inadvertent admissions by proponents of human caused global warming of acts on their part which are illegally avoiding Freedom of Information Act requests for documents and suggestions such documents should be destroyed instead their being released."
Even though the hidden/altered/buggered-with material has been widely released, and millions of people have seen it, the Wiki editors are trying to close the book and secret it away just as the Hadley crew were. That Wiki-talk page is a great, public example of how certain groups of people are trying to make the *truth*, even scientific truth, an entirely political determination. We'd better get used to it.
Posted by: EBD at November 24, 2009 7:18 PMResults 1 - 10 of about 36,700,000 for climate emails. (0.10 seconds)
Kate's article is the third item on the first page.
Posted by: Bernie at November 24, 2009 7:20 PMJesus...it really is suppressing these suggested searches. Google.com is not.
Makes you wonder whether the search results are being filtered as well?
Posted by: john g at November 24, 2009 7:40 PMI don't think it matters what Wikipedia says, "You can't stop the signal"
H/T Serenity
Posted by: qwerty1 at November 24, 2009 7:43 PMTry googling "climate emails" using "I'm feeling lucky"...
The dog ate my homework page comes up!
If I was a cynical B*****d I'd be a paranoid one now!
Do a search on Google for 'Drudge' and usually the number 2 or 3 item listed is the Drudge 'RETORT'. Bunch of lefty toadies over at Google, all high and mighty with thier Boeing aircraft and smug attitudes. Pricks.
Posted by: Eskimo at November 24, 2009 8:03 PMKate.....not a poll gone wrong but the "Goracle" and Canada's number one "Fruitfy" are scheduled to appear on the Corpse's "Q" tomorrow. The site has asked for suitable questions...
http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/
bverwey
Posted by: bverwey at November 24, 2009 8:10 PMI tried Google.ca and got the same results as Kate but when I switched to Google.com the search help bot produced Climategate, climate emails and climate hack as it should. It appears that the"anomoly is only on Google.ca. Interesting. Bing finds climategate but not amything else.
Posted by: Brian Mallard at November 24, 2009 8:14 PMI found that I had to type "climate hacking" and then only by going to the 2nd page of results did you find anything. this is on google.ca
Posted by: Colin at November 24, 2009 8:25 PMfirst try Clima came up with climate gate
Posted by: Joyce Dost at November 24, 2009 8:32 PMOk, now I'm getting with 'climate hoax' with 2,380,000 hits.
And for 'climate hoax emails' getting 36,200,000 hits.
This is back on google.ca.
Both first pages list a blog section at the bottom and Kates in on that list about 4th down.
And of course I click it to make sure it brought up SDA.
I think what where watching here is a full bare assed retreat by the Environuts. They had their privates exposed when the pants came off in the hack.
This reminds me of the movie the FLY (Original) where the man is a little head on a fly s body crying help me help me.
Its over baby!!!!
Right now I type in "clim" and the first suggestion is climategate. Kate Gets Results.
Results 1 - 10 of about 229,000 for climategate. (0.09 seconds)
Posted by: Pete at November 24, 2009 9:13 PMJust type in "hide the decline" and SDA is sixth.
Posted by: john at November 24, 2009 9:30 PMdid Google up "climate hack" and got a good link right off the top
http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/in-climate-hack.html
mine doesn't offer the handy drop down helper, using firefox?
Posted by: blanks at November 24, 2009 10:12 PMThey can only hide for so long . . . CBC is still holding out.
Posted by: Fred at November 24, 2009 6:34 PM
Sent in my letter of complaint to the CBC ombudsman earlier this afternoon. I encourage Fred, and others, to do the same. CBC is a publicly subsidized broadcaster, and they have voluntarily abrogated their responsibility as a fair and impartial purveyor of news and current events.
In my view, they no longer qualify for such generous monetary support from the Canadian taxpayer. Their behavior in this matter is beyond the pale.
My letter below, which others may feel free to edit, use and amend for their purposes:
~~~~~~~
To: ombudsman@cbc.ca
Cc: kampr@parl.gc.ca ; harpes@parl.gc.ca
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 4:59 PM
Subject: "Climategate" ignored by CBC
Dear Sirs,
I write today to comment on an unacceptable state of affairs with respect to CBC News and its complete non-coverage of the "Climategate" story that has been unfolding since last Thursday. I have checked in frequently since this story broke, viewing the cbc.ca website anticipating some coverage of the story. To date, the story has been ignored. To be sure, I did several searches using the search feature on the cbc.ca website, using a variety of entry parameters with words including "climategate", "hacker", "global warming", "CRU". None of the hits turned up by my searches had any relation to the developing Climategate story.
This is a huge story that has gone viral in the blogosphere, and has been covered up by many notable "mainstream" news outlets including:
* Fox News
* The New York Times
* The Washington Post
However, the story is completely ignored by "mainstream" Canadian news outlets.
The CBC has long been a promoter of the alarmist global warming agenda, but having an editorial bias is one thing. However, to completely whitewash, and ignore an important story as it is unfolding and developing, is a complete abrogation of its responsibility as a publicly subsidized broadcaster.
I have written my MP, Randy Kamp, and the Prime Minster earlier today on this topic. Amongst other things, I have urged their government to cut the $1 billion annual subsidy to the CBC since it is clearly not a responsible or honest purveyor of current events or news. It appears to be more akin to a Soviet-style propaganda agency that will ignore stories to advance an agenda, as opposed to honestly and objectively providing important and factual news coverage for the taxpayers of the nation.
Thank you for your time,
Regarding the Wikipedia page on the CRU email hacking incident: the creator of that page blogs at Dispatches from TJICstan:
http://tjic.com/
He's got several posts going about the wiki page and its alteration:
Creating the page
http://tjic.com/?p=13295
Reversion of certain edits to page
http://tjic.com/?p=13297
More page edit fun and games
http://tjic.com/?p=13302
Regarding the Wikipedia page on the CRU email hacking incident: the creator of that page blogs at Dispatches from TJICistan:
http://tjic.com/
He's got several posts going about the wiki page and its alteration:
Creating the page
http://tjic.com/?p=13295
Reversion of certain edits to page
http://tjic.com/?p=13297
More page edit fun and games
http://tjic.com/?p=13302
"Climate Fr" gets recognition by Google.ca. Climate Fraud is shown in third place, behind Climate France and Climate Friendly. 60 million results for Climate France, approximately the population of the country. Coincidence?
Posted by: kakola at November 24, 2009 10:20 PMSimilar silence from the G&M. Posted this to the editor:
Hey arseholes, why no mention of the hack/insider-leak of the Hadley CRU e-mails incriminating the key global warming alarmist of fraud, collusion, and intimidation?
Too busy protecting a political agenda to report the news?
But, then again, what to expect from Toronto's "national" newspaper (aka asswipe)?
Posted by: doninanmore at November 24, 2009 11:04 PM"This reminds me of the movie the FLY (Original) where the man is a little head on a fly s body crying help me help me."
That was such a great movie!
Posted by: LindaL at November 24, 2009 11:11 PM"They can only hide for so long . . . CBC is still holding out."
What is ridiculous about the MSM ignoring a significant story like this is that it makes you think that (like the scientists) they also have an agenda. I would have thought they would want to dispell such an idea. It would be easy enough to publish a short item and then spin it as they often do. Ignoring the thing completely makes me think they are hiding something too. I always wondered why they dropped reporting reasonable sounding critiques from deniers. They have undermined their own credibility. And it is true -- too many people already know about the story, so it won't be going away. I will be reporting to all my friends who do not blog, so sooner or later most people will know and the media will be caught looking foolish and manipulative.
Posted by: Lindal at November 24, 2009 11:16 PMLooks like google is falling in line with the msm on this.
There are other search engines besides the "agw denier filter" google.
Try altavista or lycos for lots of comment on the climate change scam.
Posted by: chris at November 24, 2009 11:26 PMNo doubt about it ... Google is trying to wipe their main page of all reference to this.
BUT .... go to goggle news and search CRU ...
That gets results.
Also Yahoo is completely OTL ....
A while ago here at SDA I mentioned the same kind of problem with trying to find the best and most visited sites on Barry's mysterious past and the birth certificate thingy, the first on top of the list where sites like the Huffington post and leftosphere sites, places much less viewed...All the top links were way back, deliberately, I'm sure.
Never thought of going Google.com though.
Posted by: Right Honorable Terry Tory at November 24, 2009 11:55 PMI can't even bring google.com up - it instantly reverts to the .ca version.
Posted by: Kate at November 24, 2009 11:58 PMKate,
Click on "Go to Google.com" at the bottom of the .ca page.
Posted by: john g at November 25, 2009 12:09 AMOn Google Canada, "Climategat" still only gives you "Climate Guatemala" on the helper bot.
I can understand the media burying this story, as it is an indictment of the coverage they've given so far. Getting Google Canada (and only Google Canada) to do it? I can't even imagine who could pull those kind of strings?
Posted by: john g at November 25, 2009 12:13 AMGood interview here . Super Freakonomics author.
Both the guest and the host give Gore and gang a trashing.
Posted by: ron in kelowna ∴ at November 25, 2009 1:02 AM'ClimateGate is going viral on google.com but NOT on google.ca !!!
PM Harper call home.
Posted by: ron in kelowna ∴ at November 25, 2009 1:10 AMEven Bing is following suit, although climate hoax actually appears, it's not what you think. Most stories that do appear on search engines are the ones about how the hack is so immoral. CRU Data actually takes you to their bogus data base.
Posted by: Joan of Argghh! at November 25, 2009 8:41 AMGoogle.com is now suppressing the ClimateGate searches like Google Canada.
Posted by: john g at November 25, 2009 9:27 AMAs of 1045 AM Eastern Time:
CLIM = Climate Gate 8,780,000 hits
CLIMATE H = Climate Hoax 2,440,000 hits
CLIMATE HAC = Climate Hacking 3,250,000
CLIMATE EMAILS = 37,000,000 hits
The top results for C =
Craig's List 65,100,000
CNN 71,000,000
Comcast.net 12,700,000
CostCo 8,120,000
Chase 86,100,000
Club Penguin 9,800,000
Capital One 93,700,000
ComCast 23,600,000
Continental Airlines 4,010,000
Cartoon Network 23,900,00
And "I'm Feeling Lucky"
Yahoo! Finance Citigroup, Inc.
There is a link at Drudge where in Google explains racist results.
http://www.news24.com/Content/SciTech/News/1132/71db03d820354c688f15fbdecad41725/25-11-2009-08-11/Google_explains_racist_results
They are upset over depictions of Michelle Obama as a monkey (classless I agree) but there did not seem to be the same contrite behaviour when pics of Bush as a monkey were being searched through google.
Suppression of climate gate results - no surprise there. Leftist toadies indeed
Posted by: just jenn at November 25, 2009 11:03 AMIt's very similar to speaking out about Linux bugs and shortcomings - one hits an invisible wall. Forum posts get deleted, chatroom conversations result in abuse and ban. Bug reports get closed as 'non-bugs'. Same sort of best intention fascism.
Posted by: Aaron at November 25, 2009 12:00 PMPlease note that number of hits for a term when you search is unrelated, entirely, to the number of searches on it.
Right now, "climategate" is the first thing that comes up when I start typing "climate", here in Americaland.
I suspect that "climate emails" simply isn't the most popular way people are looking for it.
I ain't seeing any "suppression" - I bet Google Canada simply does its popular searches based on Canadian searches, and I suspect very strongly that it's simply not as popular a search in Canada.
The idea that "Google is evil and sneaky enough to try and suppress this but only in Canada" is ... well, think about it. How stupid would that be?
If they were going to do that, and take the risks to their reputation and business model that it would entail, why would they only do it for Canada - a nation of 33 million people, and, frankly, one whose position on Warmenism is of little global import.
It would make far more sense to "suppress" it in the United States.
Yesterday I could type "climate" and get "climategate" as a suggested keyword, but now it is gone.
Al Gore is a Senior Adisor for Google. It says so on his official bio:
http://www.algore.com/about.html
Posted by: Richard at November 27, 2009 6:31 PM
I've send an email to foxnews about censoring by google and wikipedia. Maybe more people can complain around the world ?
Posted by: Arnold at November 27, 2009 10:15 PMDelivery has failed to these recipients or distribution lists:
Fncspecials@foxnews.com
The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Microsoft Exchange will not try to redeliver this message for you. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly.
I think more people are trying :D
Some started to come up after a few more letters.
"climate hockey stick fraud" was a suggestion after I got to "climate hoc".
"climate hoax" was a suggestion after "climate h"
"climate fraud" after "climate fr"
"climate bullshit" after "climate bul"
"agw fraud" after "agw f"
"agw hoax" after "agw h"
"cru lost data" after "cru l"
I got to 'climat' before 'climate emails' showed up, 8th on the list...using Google US.
Nothing at all trying 'climategate' (kept giving me climate guatamela results).
Got to 'climate hac' before 'climate hacking' popped up.
Posted by: tdpwells at November 28, 2009 2:21 PMHey, they must have read your article because I jsut tried it and climate e...comes up climate emails. What do these people think before they do things like this? That they won't get caught and look stupid? Global warming hysterics and the left..their motto should be: "we will if we can until we get found out"
Posted by: RAYDUNNING at November 28, 2009 4:13 PMAnyone a big Twitter user? Has 'Climategate' been one of the popular 'Trending Topics' in the past week? I've not seen it if it has.
Posted by: mudskipper at November 28, 2009 5:41 PMI have done regular tests on the Google drop down window.
google.co.nz used to prompt with these phrases but now does not:
climate hack
cru hack
climategate
google.com was not working for those yesterday but is working now.
I suspect it's a feeble attempt at censorship that has bugs in it.
ah 'the truth will out'.
google THAT mssrs personal boeing aircraft.
anybody got, like, an office phone number for those fukdiks?
We need a conservative search engine,might as well make it so it doesnt archive all a persons search history etc.
Posted by: bob at November 28, 2009 11:52 PM