Google is a powerful search tool, but it also has several limitations that researchers should consider. It can be useful in identifying fake news, but it can also deliver false and misleading sites in its search results.
1. Google PageRank Algorithm - Part of Google's algorithm ranks pages by the number of other pages that link to it and the importance of those pages. This can be manipulated by certain websites so that they appear high on Google's list of results. These sites are sometimes false, misleading, extremely biased or even hateful.
2. Filter Bubbles - Algorithms in search engines use our previous searches and personal information to deliver individualized results. According to Eli Pariser, author of the book The Filter Bubble, this prevents some types of information from ever being in our results list as more links are delivered that confirm our interests and beliefs. Check out the Loyola Marymount Library's excellent guide on filter bubbles,
3. No Editorial Process- Google, like most search engines, does not evaluate web sites for accuracy or quality. The top results on a Google search are not based on the quality or accuracy of the information but on Google's algorithm. PageRank remains an important part of that algorithm.
The Filter Bubble by 
Algorithms of Oppression by A revealing look at how negative biases against women of color are embedded in search engine results and algorithms Run a Google search for "black girls"--what will you find? "Big Booty" and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in "white girls," the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated discussions about "why black women are so sassy" or "why black women are so angry" presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society. In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color. Through an analysis of textual and media searches as well as extensive research on paid online advertising, Noble exposes a culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online. As search engines and their related companies grow in importance--operating as a source for email, a major vehicle for primary and secondary school learning, and beyond--understanding and reversing these disquieting trends and discriminatory practices is of utmost importance. An original, surprising and, at times, disturbing account of bias on the internet, Algorithms of Oppression contributes to our understanding of how racism is created, maintained, and disseminated in the 21st century.
A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence by Through the technology embedded in almost every major tech platform and web-enabled device, algorithms make a staggering number of everyday decisions for us. In his new book, Kartik Hosanagar surveys the brave new world of algorithmic decision-making and reveals the potentially dangerous biases they can give rise to as they increasingly run our lives. He makes the compelling case that we need to arm ourselves with a better, understanding of the phenomenon of algorithmic thinking. And he gives us a route in, pointing out that algorithms often think a lot like their creators.
Technically Wrong by A revealing look at how tech industry bias and blind spots get baked into digital products--and harm us all. Buying groceries, tracking our health, finding a date: whatever we want to do, odds are that we can now do it online. But few of us ask why all these digital products are designed the way they are. It's time we change that. Many of the services we rely on are full of oversights, biases, and downright ethical nightmares: Chatbots that harass women. Signup forms that fail anyone who's not straight. Social media sites that send peppy messages about dead relatives. Algorithms that put more black people behind bars. Sara Wachter-Boettcher takes an unflinching look at the values, processes, and assumptions that lead to these and other problems. Technically Wrong demystifies the tech industry, leaving those of us on the other side of the screen better prepared to make informed choices about the services we use--and demand more from the companies behind them.