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Google searches in times of world crises offer incredible insights into our humanity

Nypost · 🇺🇦 public Ukraine · · 815 words · By Simon Rogers
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What to know about Google searches in times of world crises offer incredible insights into our humanity

Google searches in times of world crises offer incredible insights into our humanity We are constantly told that the internet has made us more isolated, polarized and selfish.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left14%
Center72%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Google searches in times of world crises offer incredible insights into our humanity We are constantly told that the internet has made us more isolated, polarized and selfish.

Why it matters

But as a data editor at Google, my job is to glean insights from the mountain of search data, and I can tell you that the database of our actual intentions proves the exact opposite.

Common ground

It is arguably the biggest publicly available dataset in existence and can reasonably claim to represent humanity across the world.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/02/opinion/google-searches-in-times-of-crises-offer-i…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

help Insufficient Evidence 9
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Claim 1: “In the days after the devastating 2023 wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the top-trending search on donations across all of Google was “Maui fire donation.””
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2023 (MMXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2023rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 23rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kīhei (Hawaiian pronunciation: [tiːˈhɛj] , lit. 'cape, cloak') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 21,423 at the 2020 census.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kīhei,_Hawaii
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Tournament of Champions (known as The Sentry from 2024 to 2025) was a golf tournament played on the PGA Tour from 1953 to 2025. The tournament was played in Hawaii on the island of Maui. From 1986…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_of_Champions_(golf)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “We see this pattern repeat itself every time there is a huge global event — from the top-trending donation search for the Noto earthquake in Japan in 2024, to the massive surge in searches to “Donate to Ukraine” in 2022.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2024 (MMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2024th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 24th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events in the year 2024 in Japan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_in_Japan
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fumio Kishida's tenure as prime minister of Japan began on 4 October 2021 when he was officially appointed prime minister by Emperor Naruhito in a ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, succeeding Yos…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premiership_of_Fumio_Kishida
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “in both the US and the UK, the top-searched query in this category for the last decade has been “How to help someone with depression,” followed closely by anxiety and panic attacks.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
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web search NEUTRAL — Research shows that helping others makes us happier. But in her groundbreaking work on generosity and joy, social psychologist Elizabeth Dunn found that ther...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUKhMUZnLuw
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web search NEUTRAL — A panic attack usually lasts 5 to 30 minutes. They can be frightening, but they're not dangerous and should not harm you. Things you can try to help with anxiety, fear and panic.
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviour…
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web search NEUTRAL — single factor is not responsible for the development of depression.
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/mental-and-emotional-health/d…
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Claim 4: “As a data editor at Google, my job is to glean insights from the mountain of search data, and I can tell you that the database of our actual intentions proves the exact opposite [of the internet making us more isolated, polarized and selfish].”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
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web search NEUTRAL — Many scholars draw on evidence from evolutionary biology, behavioral economics, and infant research to argue that humans are "noble savages", endowed with indiscriminate kindness. We believe this is m…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5921922/
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web search NEUTRAL — There has long been a general assumption that human beings are essentially selfish. We're apparently ruthless, with strong impulses to compete against each other for resources and to accumulate ...
https://phys.org/news/2020-08-humans-inherently-selfish-hard…
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web search NEUTRAL — Selfishness aids survival but requires balance in society. While modern life rewards both selfish and cooperative behaviors, ethical self-interest can foster personal growth.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/common-sense-science…
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Claim 5: “In September 2024, when Hurricane Helene made landfall, the affected states all saw spikes in searches related to keeping pets safe — “pet friendly hurricane shelters near me” in Florida and “how to calm a puppy down” in Georgia, for example.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hurricane Helene brought destructive effects to Florida. The eighth named storm, fifth hurricane and second major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Helene made landfall in Florida on Se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Helene_in…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Georgia was severely impacted by Hurricane Helene during late September 2024, causing 37 deaths across the state. After making landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on September 27, the hurricane…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Helene_in…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hurricane Helene ( heh-LEEN) was a powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Helene
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “When disasters strike, human beings reliably follow a strict cognitive path — first, we seek to understand the threat, and second, we take action to help others.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of DURING is throughout the duration of. How to use during in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/during
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web search NEUTRAL — DURING definition: 1. from the beginning to the end of a particular period: 2. at some time between the beginning and…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/during
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — When you use during, you are usually emphasizing that something is continuous or repeated. You can also use during to say that something happens while an activity takes place. I met a lot of celebriti…
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/during
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Claim 7: “On the day of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, blood donations spiked +1,550% across the US.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Omar Mir Seddique Mateen (Pashto: عمر مير صديق متين; born Omar Mir Seddique; November 16, 1986 – June 12, 2016) was an American mass murderer who killed 49 people and wounded 58 others, 53 of them by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Mateen
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pulse was a gay bar, dance club, and nightclub in Orlando, Florida, founded in 2004 by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler. On June 12, 2016, the club was the scene of the second-deadliest mass shooting by a …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_(nightclub)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On June 12, 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Pulse was hosting a "Latin Night", a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_nightclub_shooting
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 8: “We saw this during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, where people battening down the hatches and stockpiling emergency supplies paused to search for something personal, understandable and very human: “How to calm a dog in a storm.””
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hurricane Harvey was a powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005'…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Harvey
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lakewood Church is an evangelical Pentecostal and Word of Faith megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It was formerly a Baptist church from 1959 until 1961, and a non-denominational Christian church f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Church
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hurricane Harvey was the costliest tropical cyclone on record (tied with Hurricane Katrina of 2005), and the costliest tropical cyclone on record in the state of Texas, inflicting roughly $125 billion…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorological_history_of_Hurr…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “Rogers is the author of What We Ask Google: A Surprisingly Hopeful History of Humankind (Plume, out now.)”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Evaluation unavailable
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.