How we help promote anti-Masonic web sites...

Have you ever wondered why, when you search Google for ‘Freemasonry’, more anti-Masonic (we prefer ‘Masonophobic’) sites are listed than real Masonic sites?

The problem is, apparently, you!

An internet expert explained it to us is this way. If you use a search engine (such as Google) for sites about Rolls Royce you would not expect to get nothing but sites about Ford motor cars. That is because sites about Ford motor cars do not refer to Rolls Royce on their web sites and more importantly they do not use 'Rolls Royce' as a keyword (words search engines use to categorise web sites).

Masonophobic sites do just that. Masonophobic web sites use keywords which are Masonic (Freemasonry, Masonic etc.) and so search engines list them as being Masonic despite the fact that they are not. Having succeeded in reaching a high ranking in search engines they stay in high positions because ‘we’ keep visiting them!

Every time you visit a Masonophobic site, search engines use this to rank the web site’s popularity. The more Freemasons that visit Masonophobic sites the higher they remain in the search engine’s ranking. It is ironic therefore, that it is we Freemasons (in the main) who seem to be keeping these sites in high ranking positions.

Why do we do so? It is thought that it is probably due to two things.

Firstly, many Freemasons seem unaware of the consequences of visiting such sites (making them popular) and secondly a desire to find out ‘what they are saying about us’.

What should ‘we’ do about this situation, if anything? In respect of the first point above, now at least Freemasons may make an informed decision as to whether or not to visit Masonophobic sites.

The second point is more difficult to deal with. Freemasons are naturally curious about what non-Freemasons are saying about 'us' and we seem to find it irresistible to read such material. After all it has been going on for almost 300 years! The first ‘exposure’ of Freemasonry was by Samuel Pritchard in 1730 (Masonry Dissected, London) and like Dan Brown’s novels it too became a best seller.

Perhaps ‘we’ should chose a month during which we agree not to visit anti-Masonic sites just to see what happens to their position in the various search engines?

(We are aware that this is a simplified explanation of how search engines rank web sites but we think that it explains the main point – Ed).