Topic: Google Files

The discussion covers the 2016 Washington Post report on "Prop or Not," an anonymous group that labeled various alternative media outlets as Russian propaganda. Brooke Hines explains how this initiative led to "informational hygiene" where search engines like Google shunted traffic away from sites like Truthdig and Antiwar.com. This coordinated effort effectively forced alternative creators to rely on social media algorithms that were already under centralized control.

Jim Lee describes his early work mapping missile defense radars and lasers following the Fukushima disaster using Google Earth KML files. He explains that his reputation in the science community shifted when he began including cloud seeding and weather modification projects in his data sets. This inclusion resulted in his work being moved from the science section to the "sentient" or conspiracy category, motivating his decade-long research.