Usually I like your articles, but you’re way off base on this one.

Firstly, The Google explanation is not recent. It dates back to 2004.

Secondly, you suggest that Google ranks pages based on popularity which is just not true. Google’s algorithm is a link analysis algorithm, i.e. it measures how many pages link to another page to determine how valuable it is. It’s one of the reasons why Dan Sieradski’s ‘Jooglebomb campaign was initially so effective. (http://tinyurl.com/yfsosjn)

Finally, using Alexa to measure page views is inherently problematic. The ratings are based on tracking information of users of its Alexa Toolbar, which needs to be installed by users. The people who do ignore the obvious privacy issues of installing software that “COLLECTS AND STORES INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEB PAGES YOU VIEW, THE DATA YOU ENTER IN ONLINE FORMS AND SEARCH FIELDS, AND, WITH VERSIONS 5.0 AND HIGHER, THE PRODUCTS YOU PURCHASE ONLINE WHILE USING THE TOOLBAR SERVICE.” are not representative of internet users on the whole, and as such Alexa’s data is horribly flawed. (Source: http://www.alexa.com/help/terms) — As such (and for other reasons) Alexa certainly should not be seen as a “source of hard data” on anything, let alone popularity of antisemitism on the web.