Boris Johnson is talking nonsense to influence your Google search results

By Bianca Borissova

Published Oct 17, 2019 at 10:14 AM

Reading time: 3 minutes

4039

Rumour has it, Boris Johnson is trying to manipulate our Google search results by using similar keywords or phrases of already-circulating negative media coverage to create new trending stories. Basically, BoJo will say or do something random to distract us from his dubious track record, and the news will pick it up.

In June, during an interview with Ross Kempsell, Boris Johnson shared that he likes to make and paint models of buses in his downtime. Naturally, the next day, the focus of the media was on this peculiar, and frankly random hobby. Of course, that is not to judge his hobbies, but for a man who has previously shared his love for painting cheese boxes and claims to have written an entire script for a potential blockbuster film set in war-torn Syria and Iraq, this probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. But what if all of Johnson’s random little remarks weren’t so random after all, and are all but a ploy to take our attention away from current affairs, ones that actually matter?

According to a theory identified and published by Parallax, this whole bus fiasco may have been an attempt to rearrange our search results when we type in ‘Boris Johnson’ and ‘bus’ on Google and other search engines. The reason for this would be to try and hide evidence of that time when Johnson created the infamous ‘Brexit’ buses, branded with false claims that the UK sends £350 million a week to Europe, right before the Brexit vote. The thing is, once Johnson’s hobby was revealed, not only did it get immense media coverage, but it also completely rearranged search results. According to the data conducted by Parallax, the CTR (click-through rate) has “fallen to a sub 2 per cent,” and “mentions from so many high tier publications with hefty domain authority pushing down ‘Routemaster bus’ related articles and replacing them with articles about Boris making model buses.”

And if the fact that all of this happening mid-campaign may still seem like a coincidence or conspiracy, there are more cases like this. For instance, earlier in September, Johnson gave a speech (the appropriate term to use would be rambled) in front of the police. At the same time, reports were circulating about how the police were called to the flat he shared with his partner Carrie Symonds, due to an alleged domestic dispute. This way, when ‘Boris Johnson and police’ were googled, his incomprehensible speech would show up instead. Similarly, Johnson saying that he was the “model of restraint,” could have been an attempt at shifting the attention from his alleged affair with ex-model Jennifer Arcuri, meaning that now, when you google “model” next to his name, of course, the model of restraint comes up.

It is unlikely that Boris Johnson is secretly an SEO strategy genius, but what about his PR team? “I doubt that manipulating the SERPs (search engine results pages) was exactly the plan, I don’t want to give them that much credit,” Jess Melia, who wrote the article detailing this exact theory for Parallax, tells Screen Shot.

I think I’d hesitate to point to BoJo himself as the mastermind behind any online strategy,” says Ruth Attwood, Founder and SEO consultant at Puglet Digital. Adding that it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume someone working in PR would have a good understanding of SEO or have knowledge of using “search influenced channels to get out whatever message or change in perception they’re aiming for. It’s their job, after all.”

“There’s a lot more at play in terms of PR, coverage and social platforms in today’s digital ecosystem,” Attwood explains. When someone of a high influence (brand, media outlet or individual) starts driving a conversation into a particular direction, this almost always influences Google search results. “Of course, what someone sees and what they think are two very different things, but I think it would be remarkably short-sighted to think that search engine results don’t have any influence on the public consciousness.” Of course, Boris Johnson’s remarks have clearly changed the results of our search engines—but the thing is, the news media outlets that are publishing these conversations are the ones dominating the digital news domain.

So what does this teach us about our search engine usage and results? Of course, these can be influenced ‘for us’, which then also dictates the news and media we consume. For those of us who aren’t SEO specialists (and I am certainly not), it is hard to crack theories such as these. So perhaps next time, if you hear Boris Johnson doing something odd and ridiculous, take it with a grain of salt and perhaps refrain from tweeting about it.

Keep On Reading

By Abby Amoakuh

Only at Coachella can you be caught saying the N-word and still perform without question

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Channing Tatum and Zoë Kravitz call off their engagement. Is his past divorce to blame?

By Abby Amoakuh

South Asian creators call out influencers for cultural appropriation after seeing scandi scarves at Coachella

By Louis Shankar

2025’s most anticipated movies: What to watch for in the new year

By Kit Warchol

Is Dry January sexist? A look into the gendered politics behind Gen Z’s favourite wellness trend

By Malavika Pradeep

What is a Labubu? Unboxing the monster plushie capturing hearts, wallets and belt loops

By Abby Amoakuh

Unpopular opinion: Merit-based scholarships are just another privilege perk

By Louis Shankar

BlueSky sees 300% surge in users after 2024 US presidential election

By Alma Fabiani

From ugly crying to reliving Y2K dreams: 6 audiobooks for every mood on Amazon Music

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Trump launches his 2028 presidential campaign, ignoring constitutional limitations

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Who is Noor Alfallah, the woman with geriatric rizz dating Hollywood’s most famous grandpas?

By Abby Amoakuh

One Day actor Leo Woodall speaks about feeling objectified ahead of new Bridget Jones movie

By Abby Amoakuh

Single White Female remake starring Jenna Ortega and Taylor Russell hit with racist backlash

By Abby Amoakuh

Why Gen Z are cancelling Call Her Daddy following Amy Schumer’s controversial appearance

By Charlie Sawyer

Did Tim Cheese murder John Pork, and how is Simon Claw involved? The lore, explained

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Why does ChatGPT shut down when you ask it about a man called David Mayer? We investigate

By Charlie Sawyer

Conspiracy theorists claim Los Angeles wildfires were started on purpose to make way for SmartLA 2028 agenda

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Character.AI chatbots are targeting teens into anorexia with dangerous advice

By Merilyn Chang

Here’s why Trump is resonating with Asian American families like mine

By Charlie Sawyer

It’s not ok that netizens are calling Wicked star Cynthia Erivo a homewrecker on social media