The topic of does Google's ranking signals and algorithms different based on the query or searcher has been around for a while. I believe most algorithms are not query dependent but there are some signals that are specific to the type of query and the searcher information.
Gary Illyes answered a question from Jennifer Slegg on Twitter, which is dangerous for this type of question. The question was "Most SEOs have a pretty good idea of the most important Google ranking signals for the search results. But does the weight of each those signals vary based on things like query, the searcher, the results?" Gary responded "that's a little oversimplified but yes."
For example, local intent queries will show the local pack and more localized organic results. That is one example. Also searcher behavior may change the search results through personalization. So if I had to guess, this is where Gary is coming from.
Does Panda or Penguin act differently based on the query being [best router] vs [find porn] - I doubt it. But I think that is the question most SEOs ask, do spammy queries get away with out being hit by a spam algorithm. I doubt the answer to that is yes.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
