It’s long been suspected they have.  At some point, there was speculation, with some amount of circumstantial evidence that Google was pushing their “political views” upward on their search results.  I am sure that speculation is still there, it’s just no the hot topic of the day for bloggers and SEO types.

Eric Odom of Freshy SEO tipped the hat on this little jewel regarding Google Knol, another Google Startup.  According to Google Knol, a KNOL is a is an authoritative article about a specific topic.

Just a week after it’s launch, Google’s Knol is beginning to stir up some controversy. First, Wil Reynolds of Seer Interactive noticed that a Knol article was already ranking high on Google for the search phrase “how to backpack”. As of this post, the article is ranking #1 on Google. (Incidentally, the author, Ryan Moulton, is a Google employee.)  -=SOURCE=-

Reading the quoted article above and following the links throughout, will give you an idea of the apparent mindset of Google.  Domination and complete self-promotion with absolute disregard for the integrity of the data?  Possibly.

Google worries me.