# Well damn, now I can't use Duck Duck Go anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016 "2022-02-23T18:52:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/1 "2022-02-23T18:52:23Z")
> **[Fed Up With Google, Conspiracy Theorists Turn to DuckDuckGo (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/technology/duckduckgo-conspiracy-theories.html)** > > The embrace by some conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists is part of a broader effort to shift people away from Big Tech. The upshot: NYT says that Duck Duck Go is now the favored search engine of right-wing conspiracy theorists. > “If I wanted to find specific cases about people who died from vaccine-related injuries, I had to go to [DuckDuckGo](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/technology/duckduckgo-private-search.html),” Mr. [Joe] Rogan said, referring to the small [privacy-focused](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/technology/personaltech/online-privacy-private-browsers.html) search engine. “I wasn’t finding them on Google.” > > Praise for DuckDuckGo has become a popular refrain during the pandemic among right-wing social media influencers and conspiracy theorists who question Covid-19 vaccines and push discredited coronavirus treatments. Some have posted screenshots showing that DuckDuckGo appears to surface more links favorable to their views than Google does. The article has a little semi-interactive feature demonstrating the various results on three search engines when searching for conspiracy-related topics. > “Google is actively suppressing search results that don’t acquiesce to traditional viewpoints of the left,” Mr. [Ben] Shapiro claimed last March. “I recommend you install DuckDuckGo on your computer, rather than Google, to combat all this.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/2 "2022-02-23T19:00:11Z")
Oh geez, and NPR had zillions of ads for them. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/3 "2022-02-23T19:01:11Z")
I love DDG. And, no, I am not a conspiracy theorist. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/4 "2022-02-23T19:24:23Z")
I installed it as my default for the privacy feature, but it sucks as a search engine. Quite often I just have to navigate to Google if I actually want to find information. I vaguely remember a month or so ago, I was arguing with someone on this board about what percentage of people talking about X (I no longer remember the value of X) were RW conspiracy nuts. We discovered that, at least for that particular X, DDG search did indeed pull up a significantly higher proportion of moonbat sites than Google did. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/5 "2022-02-23T19:25:40Z")
I know! It really pissed me off when I read that! 😠 This is why we can’t have nice things. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/6 "2022-02-23T19:37:47Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I love DDG. And, no, I am not a conspiracy theorist. Same here. I am not going to change due to this development, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/7 "2022-02-23T19:38:38Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I installed it as my default for the privacy feature, but it sucks as a search engine. Quite often I just have to navigate to Google if I actually want to find information. Yes, this is my experience as well. I’ve gotten into the habit of using DDG if the information I’m searching for is personal to me (“what is this thing on my leg?”) but using Google when I don’t care that the world knows I’m doing a search on giraffes or something. When searching for an exact quote of anything, in quote marks, DDG very often turns up a blank while Google finds it handily. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/8 "2022-02-23T20:09:55Z")
As the NYT article points out, Duck Duck Go’s uses Bing’s search algorithm. It’s privacy settings are great, but the search results itself are inferior to Google’s, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/9 "2022-02-24T01:10:09Z")
I just did searches for “Covid vaccine injuries” on both DDG and Google. Of the first 12 results on DDG, five were antivax-oriented from fringe sources like covidvaccineinjuriesdotcom (an anonymously-hosted site with provocative headlines like “Father of 2 and 6 year old Dropped Dead In Front Of His Kids”) and the Gospel News Network (I don’t know about _you_, but it sounds like a primo health news source to me). Of the first 25 search results on Google, only one gave strong antivax vibes (the rest were almost entirely sober mainstream articles detailing extent and significance of Covid-19 vaccine-related side effects and injuries. My impression has been that Google makes it a lot easier to find reputable info as compared to conspiracy dreck. I’ve yet to be convinced that’s a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/10 "2022-02-24T01:13:55Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > Duck Duck Go’s uses Bing’s search algorithm. Huh, no wonder i didn’t like it. I’ve used Bing from time to time, and it’s terrible. That’s too bad, i was thinking of trying it again. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/11 "2022-02-24T01:24:32Z")
If I abandon Duck Duck Go due to some political bullshit, it won’t be a sad farewell. I like their (claims of) privacy, but hell, how do I really know? But I’ve searched for similar terms with them and with Google, and the DDG results are more like clickbait than genuine helpful information. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/12 "2022-02-24T01:37:26Z")
I’ve been using DDG for a year or so and have been considering abandoning it even before reading this thread. For me it’s gonna be Duck Duck Go Fuck Yourself. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/13 "2022-02-24T01:39:33Z")
A sincere question: If Duck Duck Go is the “search engine that doesn’t track” me, then why does it place cookies/cache/whatever in my web browser (Safari)? ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/14 "2022-02-24T02:15:26Z")
DDG definitely remembers some things temporarily, like what you just typed in for a search string. Not sure what else, tho. I’ve found its inability to remember things to be a hindrance, but I figured it was the price to pay for relative anonymity. Responding to the OP: I still use–and get decent results–out of DDG. However, if they start returning “fascist” results, I’ll have to review my dedication to DDG. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/15 "2022-02-24T02:41:45Z")
The real answer is simply have both DDG and Google in your repertoire of available search engines. I use DDG by default most of the time – but yes, I’ve always noticed that the hits it returns can be a bit idiosyncratic. If I don’t see what I think I’m looking for, then I use google. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/16 "2022-02-24T03:15:09Z")
Sorry, but I use a search engine for the results. DDG and Bing just don’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/17 "2022-02-24T03:47:35Z")
That’s what they _want_ you to think. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/18 "2022-02-24T03:58:34Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > A sincere question: If Duck Duck Go is the “search engine that doesn’t track” me, then why does it place cookies/cache/whatever in my web browser (Safari)? DDG doesn’t place cookies by default, but it will if you change a setting. It has to place a cookie in that case, because how else would it know to load the settings you want? So you probably at some point changed a setting, such as “Infinite Scroll,” or the “Safe Search” level or the date range for results or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/19 "2022-02-24T04:51:08Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > DDG doesn’t place cookies by default, but it will if you change a setting. It has to place a cookie in that case, because how else would it know to load the settings you want? That makes some sense. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016/20 "2022-02-24T07:25:32Z")
I misread the thread, thank god. Only a search engine. I was afraid my kindergarten class would have to give up duck, duck, goose. That would be tragic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-damn-now-i-cant-use-duck-duck-go-anymore/960016.md?page=2)