Updated: June 2023
Ten recommendations for the advanced use of online media.
1. Use a range of different media
Different media outlets may have very different views on the same topic. Use the SPR Media Navigator to compare media outlets with different political and geopolitical positions.
SPR tip: On important topics, check the sources yourself.
2. Access paywalled media content
Important media content is increasingly being placed behind paywalls. To disable online paywalls, use the “Bypass Paywalls” browser extension, available for Firefox and Chrome.
SPR tip: Support high-quality, independent journalism within the scope of your means.
3. Use an advertising and tracking blocker
To avoid getting tracked and profiled while browsing, use an ad and tracking blocker on all devices. Disable it only on websites that you want to support by letting them display ads.
SPR tip: Do not use the internet without an ad and tracking blocker.
4. Use alternatives to Google Search
The search results and search suggestions of Google Search are heavily manipulated. Therefore, replace Google Search with an alternative search engine on all devices (including mobiles).
Search engines that use their own search index include Microsoft Bing, British Mojeek, American Brave Search, Russian Yandex, and Chinese Petal Search (Huawei). Most other search engines – including DuckDuckGo, Yahoo and Qwant – rely on results provided by Microsoft Bing.
In addition, Swiss meta-search engine eTools combines results from Google, Bing, Yandex, Brave, Mojeek and other providers in a transparent and configurable way.
See also: The Search Engine Map (SEM) and Internet Search and Artificial Intelligence (SPR)
5. Use alternatives to YouTube
The Google-owned video platform YouTube and its search function are also heavily manipulated and censored. Therefore, always check independent video platforms such as Odysee, Rumble, BitChute, Vimeo, Dailymotion, the Internet Archive, and others.
To bypass YouTube age-restrictions (often used to censor videos), use the browser addon Simple YouTube Age Restriction Bypass. To download (restricted) videos, use 9xbuddy.com.
SPR tip: To search for “controversial” videos on YouTube (if not already deleted), use a search engine other than YouTube and Google and add “site:youtube.com” to your search.
6. Use alternatives to Facebook and Twitter
Facebook and Twitter are heavily censored and manipulated on political and geopolitical issues. Therefore, consider independent social media platforms.
The notifications and “timelines” of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are also often heavily manipulated. Follow your preferred authors, channels and blogs directly via RSS instead.
SPR tip: To avoid limitations on Twitter, use the open-source Twitter front-end Nitter. On Youtube, you can subscribe to channels directly via RSS (no Youtube login required).
7. Caution with Wikipedia
Wikipedia is heavily manipulated by political and commercial lobbyists. Thus, when researching “controversial topics”, Wikipedia should be used with great caution: Wikipedia and Propagada.
When using Wikipedia, always check the sources, history and discussion page of articles.
SPR tip: To see who edited what on Wikipedia, use the WikiWho browser extension.
8. Web browser, email, and internet access
Avoid the common but intrusive Google Chrome browser and instead use an independent browser that doesn’t track you when you use the internet and online media.
Use a VPN service to protect yourself from internet censorship and monitoring. Also, use a privacy-friendly email provider instead of Gmail or similar corporate providers.
SPR tip: Use a VPN service to access internet content blocked in your country. However, note that some well-known VPN services appear to be operated by shady data brokerage firms.
9. Access books and scientific papers
To easily access books online, use Library Genesis, or Anna’s Archive, or archive.org.
To access paywalled scientific papers, use Sci-Hub or a Sci-Hub browser extension.
SPR: Support independent authors within the scope of your means.
10. Access deleted web content
To easily access deleted or removed web content, use the Web Archives browser extension, which provides easy access to archive.org, archive.is, and other web archives.
SPR tip: To locate the source of an online image, use TinEye reverse image search.
Inform friends and family
Inform friends and family about online manipulation and censorship and recommend alternatives.
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Annex
A) Google search engine market share
B) Google vs. Bing
Coronavirus: a “planned pandemic” (Bing) or “planning tools” (Google)?
C) Google vs. Yandex
Pfizer vaccine: “booster” (Google) or “deaths” (Yandex)?
D) Wikipedia: Who is editing what?
Wikipedia: open encyclopedia or covert manipulation? (more)
E) The Twitter-Files (2023)
The Twitter Files: Censorship and manipulation of Twitter (ET 2023)
F) The Censorship Industrial Complex
The top 50 organizations involved in online censorship (Taibbi 2023)
G) Further reading
- The new mind control (Dr. Robert Epstein, Aeon, 2016)
- How the CIA made Google (Nafeez Ahmed, Medium, 2015)
- Google is not what it seems (Julian Assange, Wikileaks, 2014)
- The Military Origins of Facebook (Whitney Webb, Unlimited Hangout, 2021)
- Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet (Yasha Levine, 2018)
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