American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology
Notable Findings: People are currently revealing almost 40 percent more sensitive personal information online than they would if they knew the risks. In elections, search rankings that favor one candidate over another can shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by up to 80 percent in some demographic groups. Automated search suggestions and the "featured snippet" (the answer box at the top of the page of search results) also influence people's opinions, purchases and votes without their knowledge. The search engine is, in effect, the most powerful mind control machine ever invented.
Recognition: As of January 2018, the National Academy of Sciences ranked AIBRT's 2015 paper on the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME) to be in the top 1 percent of all scientific papers the organization monitored in all the sciences, both short-term and long-term. As of this writing (August 25, 2018), the paper has been downloaded from PNAS's website more than 100,000 times. Ongoing research on SEME suggests that search rankings are having a significant impact on many of the most important decisions people make in their lives, not just on voting preferences. Because SEME is virtually invisible as a form of social influence, it is especially dangerous.
http://aibrt.org/index.php/internet-studies