President Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to condemn Google, criticizing the search engine as “rigged” for favoring liberal and establishment news publications in its search results.
The president suggested that the tech giant may be behaving in an illegal manner by skewing its search results, and promised that Google’s biased search results “will be addressed.” Trump previously called out Google’s search bias during his 2016 election campaign.
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
….results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
This followed a report from a conservative columnist that 96 of her search results for “Trump” in Google News were from establishment and left-leaning news sources.
Trump has turned his fire on Silicon Valley in recent weeks, following an unprecedented crackdown by platforms like Twitter and YouTube against conservative and anti-establishment content. He has said it is “dangerous” for social media platforms to ban accounts, and has accused social media platforms of discrimination against conservatives and Republicans.
His comments echo recent criticism of Silicon Valley made by other top Republicans, including GOP majority leader Kevin McCarthy, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale.
Although search bias is harder to detect than the bans of prominent conservatives on social media platforms, it can potentially have a far greater impact on elections. Research from psychologist Dr. Robert Epstein estimates that negative search results about a candidate can shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by up to 43.4 percent.
Google has been the subject of intense controversy over its political bias. Last year, the company was subject to a series of leaks from conservative employees who alleged that the company is characterized by a far-left monoculture that forces critics of progressive politics to conceal their beliefs in order to protect their careers.
In one of the leaks, reported exclusively by Breitbart News, Google employees revealed that senior management at the company were “on the verge of tears” the day after President Trump’s election victory in 2016.
The tech giant is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from former employees who allege that it discriminates on the basis of political viewpoint, race, and gender.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter, Gab.ai and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to allumbokhari@protonmail.com.
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