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This Is What Folks Looked Up on Google in 2024

Site's 'Year in Search' shows queries centered on sports, the US election, Liam Payne's death

(Newser) - Remember what you searched for in 2024? Google released its annual "Year in Search" on Tuesday, rounding up the top trending queries entered into its namesake search engine in 2024. The results show terms that saw the highest spike in traffic compared to last year, ranging from key news...

You Want Fries and a Halloween Costume With That?

'McDonald's costume' searches spiked by 412% after Trump's visit to the fast-food chain

(Newser) - Former President Trump's brief stint in a McDonald's apron served up French fries, a Yelp brouhaha , and, apparently, Halloween costume ideas. As Quartz reports, immediately after Trump dropped in at the Mickey D's in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, searches for "McDonald's costume" spiked like your blood sugar...

Google Rolls Out Huge Change to Search Engine

Top result for some searches will be AI-generated summaries, not links

(Newser) - Google rolled out a retooled search engine Tuesday that will frequently favor responses crafted by artificial intelligence over website links, a shift promising to quicken the quest for information while also potentially disrupting the flow of money-making internet traffic. The makeover announced at Google's annual developers conference will begin...

This Is What People Looked Up Online in 2023

Our collective Google search history is here

(Newser) - Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived. Well, actually, the world's. On Monday, the California-based tech giant released its "Year in Search," a roundup of 2023's top global queries, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer) to the loss of beloved figures and tragic...

Prosecutors: Brian Walshe Made Chilling Google Searches

They accuse him of dismembering wife Ana Walshe

(Newser) - Prosecutors on Wednesday laid out some of their case against Brian Walshe , whom they accuse of dismembering his wife with a hacksaw before disposing of the remains, reports Boston 25 . Walshe was arraigned on charges of murder and disinterring a body Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea. The Boston ...

Here's What We All Googled in 2022
Here's What We
All Googled in 2022
Dec 8, 2022 10:10 AM CST

Here's What We All Googled in 2022

'Wordle' was most popular trending search on search engine this year

(Newser) - Google is out with the words and terms that Americans hunted for the most in 2022, and "Wordle," which is having a moment elsewhere Thursday , topped the list. "Every year, we look back at the moments, people, and trends that sparked our collective curiosity," the company...

After Ruling, Americans Flood Google With a New Question

Canada has sounded welcoming, but clinics report waits

(Newser) - Crossing state borders has become a big issue after the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling, but Americans aren't just thinking about driving from Missouri to Illinois or Arizona to California. Google searches for "how to move to Canada from US" jumped 850% in the hour after...

Corona Trusts Customers to Know It's Not a Deadly Virus

Google reports big increase for 'corona beer virus'

(Newser) - The producer of Corona has expressed faith that its customers know the beer has nothing to do with the virus. Internet search data hints at confusion: Google Trends reports a 2,300% increase in searches for "corona beer virus" from Jan. 18 to Jan. 26, Business Insider reports. Those...

Doctor Wins Right to Keep Name Out of Google Search

Ruling in Dutch 'right to be forgotten' case said to be 'groundbreaking'

(Newser) - A surgeon has secured what her lawyer calls a "groundbreaking" victory in a case in the Netherlands. The Guardian reports that an Amsterdam district court has ruled that the doctor, who's still practicing under a conditional suspension after some postoperative issues with a patient, can force Google to...

He Said He Was Innocent for 40 Years. Google Search Proved It

Stephen Simmons and two friends were arrested for stealing mailbags in 1975

(Newser) - Facebook may have been one criminal's undoing—Google was another's saving grace. The Guardian has the story of Stephen Simmons, a 62-year-old British businessman whose frustration over a 1976 conviction for a crime he maintained he did not commit had never dissipated. He and two pals were arrested...

Google Searches for 'Write-In' Just Surged Massively

Searches hit record level since 2004

(Newser) - Americans are apparently looking for someone, anyone, other than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to vote for in the presidential election—just as long as that someone isn't, you know, someone already on the ballot . Google Trends data shows that online searches for "write-in" jumped by more than...

What the UK's Late-Night Brexit Googling Reveals

People were trying to learn the basics, but AFTER the vote

(Newser) - So the United Kingdom voted for Brexit , PM David Cameron announced his resignation , and scores of people starting frenetically Googling "What happens if we leave the EU?"—just a few hours after they already voted en masse to do so, the Verge reports. Google Trends tweeted there was...

Grandma Wins Internet With Politest Google Search Ever

England's May Ashworth thought there was a person at Google HQ answering queries

(Newser) - When Ben John went to his grandma's house last week to do laundry, he decided to surf the Internet on her laptop while he was waiting. What he found on the Web page she had open blew his millennial mind, the Guardian reports. "Omg opened my Nan's...

Here's What Each State Googles Weirdly Often

'Is Mr. T dead?'

(Newser) - Ever want to know what questions keep your neighbors up at night? Be careful what you wish for. Estately figured out what questions residents of each state Google more often than the others, and the results are both "inspiring and depressing." Estately used Google autocomplete to get a...

Syria's Top Google Searches Tell Sad Story

The desperation is apparent

(Newser) - The horrors of the Syrian conflict show up in an odd place: Google, where the top searches out of war-torn nation over the past two weeks are heartbreaking, reports Al-Jazeera —and show how desperately people want to flee the country.
  • The two most popular searches: "immigration to Germany"
...

Google Searches Tie Bettina Wulff to Prostitution

Now the former German first lady is suing

(Newser) - Is it a political dirty trick, or did the "search algorithms" do it? The wife of Germany's former president is suing Google because Internet searches link her name to prostitution, reports the BBC . Google executives are blaming the company's automatic search algorithms for words like "prostitute,...

16 Stories