Clif High just put out another interesting video on youtube about google filtering alternative sites. Clif specifically mentions Steemit, Reddit, and other "minor social media". I am sure he is on to something here as he gets into the technical detail of what he is looking at. I thought the whole thing was interesting, but when he mentioned Steemit 4:50 in my ears perked up!

Censoring Social Media Sites

Clif explains how Google has changed the algorithms to favor "trusted sources" and exclude "major minor social media - Twitter, Reddit, and Steemit". He mentions Steemit a second time as he explains that 7 or 8 out of the 10 pages found had been sites that broadcast more alternative news and topics but now searches are only bringing up pages from the major sites. He noted that it did affect even the bigger sites like twitter and youtube.