Using search data collected by Google , investigator at the Pew Research Center have rebuild the journeys taken by refugees hang into Europe from the Middle East . It represents a young way of tracking migration practice — but the technique could finally conduct to misuse .
In 2015 and 2016 , some 2.5 million refugees left Syria and Iraq in lookup of asylum in the European Union , Norway , and Switzerland . A dear portion of these migrants had smartphones , which they used to access maps , locate safe and receptive border crossings , source detail about their destination , and seek travel advice from societal media . By doing so — and completely unbeknownst to them — the refugee left a lead of digital breadcrumbs behind them that would eventually be used by the Pew Research Center to recreate their journeying in startling detail .
The information bring forth by these migrants was made available to the Pew researcher via publicly accessible search data point from Google Trends , and they show the paths taken by refugee , the times of day they were most likely to make their perilous journeys , and their eventual terminus points . The resulting Pew theme , titled “ The Digital Footprint of Europe ’s Refugees , ” was release earlier today .
When conducting the depth psychology , the researchers focused on a astonishingly simple expression : appear for tendency in Arabic oral communication hunt interrogation originating in non - Arabic language verbalize land . Most refugees foil into Greece from Turkey by sea , before continuing on to final finish in Europe . The presence of the migrants in these countries — where Arabic is talk at a minimal — account for the disproportionate number of Arabic - nomenclature searches done in Turkey and elsewhere during the geological period 2015 - 16 , which was the geological period cover in the new study .
When compare search terms to migration data collected by government self-confidence , the researchers derive up with several interesting correlation coefficient . For model , Google searches in Arabic for the Holy Scripture “ Greece ” mirrored fluctuations in the figure of refugees crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece . And by check the search term “ smuggler ” with “ Greece , ” the researchers were able-bodied to determine how the migrant planned their journeying . The queries even take into account the researcher to nail the clip of day migrant were most likely to make their way across the Mediterranean ; searches for “ Greece ” typically befall during the former sunrise hour , when the chances of being detected were minimal .
Revealingly , Arabic - speech searches for “ Greece ” from within Turkey make a heyday in August 2015 , and exactly two calendar month later , the volume of migrants come in Greece also peak . This two month gap happens to be the fourth dimension it takes to litigate mental home seekers journey between the two countries .
The search practice also closely mirrored asylum applications programme once the refugees were in Europe . Once in Europe , around 57 percent of refugees applied for asylum in Germany . like to Turkey , Germany ’s universe is for the most part non - Arabic speechmaking , and the identification number of asylum applications in Germany match online Arabic search from within Germany .
Much of this analysis certain seems intuitive , and even a bit of a no - brainer . Of course we can pass over migration design by matching them to search question . But this practice session does represent an crucial proof of concept . This proficiency for sure helps during after - the - fact depth psychology like this one , but it could conceivably be used by administration bureau or other group to track the motion of refugees in real - time . This would provide them to anticipate their movements , and even possibly set up barrier to first appearance ( both physical and bureaucratic ) . On a positive side , it could alert coast guard force to the presence of migrant ships on the ocean , or other high-pitched - risk migration strategies . move forrader , Google will need to be aware of how its information may be used and misused — and defend its data accordingly .
We give out to Google for comment and will update this stake should we get wind back .
[ Pew Research Center ]
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