Google recently conducted an internal study in the EU that claimed news content holds no value in boosting its Adsense earnings. This assertion stands in stark contrast to its ongoing practice of utilizing scraped news across various products such as Search, Discover, YouTube, and Gemini.
The company performed a test over 2.5 months in eight European markets, withholding news from just 1% of users. Google concluded that this absence did not lead to any noticeable change in revenue, arguing that displaying news does not enhance its earnings.
This test appears more like a maneuver to leverage its position in payment negotiations with European publishers than a genuine inquiry into news value. However, Google’s argument collapses upon further inspection.
If news truly lacked value, it raises questions about why the company continues to scrape and curate news across various platforms. Services like Google News, Search, and YouTube rely heavily on fresh news content for their operation, contradicting Google’s claim of news being worthless to its business model.
In fact, many internet users likely found this article through Google’s services, underscoring the importance of news in driving traffic and revenue. Additionally, Google recently partnered with the Associated Press to scrape news for its Gemini platform.
This partnership indicates that Google, despite its claims, recognizes some value in news content. The reality is that the company’s model—often contributing to the degradation of journalism—positions it in a complex relationship with news publishers.
The affiliation with the Associated Press suggests that there is an acknowledgment of news value, rendering Google’s study and its claims fundamentally flawed and disingenuous.
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