Staff Reports
In an eyebrow-raising display of potential bias, Google’s autocomplete feature seems to have pulled a disappearing act with respect to Donald Trump and two of the most controversial phrases circulating in political discussions: “assassination” and “assassination attempt.” On a recent Sunday, when users typed in these phrases alongside Trump’s name, they were met with a curious blackout on any relevant suggestions, which sparked a fiery debate on social media platforms. It’s almost as if the tech giant had decided to rewrite history, much to the delight of its progressive fanbase.
Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed gatekeeper of free speech and now the owner of X (formerly Twitter), wasted no time voicing his disapproval of this apparent oversight. He humorously lamented how Google’s algorithm took a detour into cartoon land by suggesting searches for “Duck,” the Disney character, instead of tackling the much more pertinent search term: “Trump.” It’s no surprise that the autocompletes fell far short of linking the words “assassination” and “Trump,” and yet managed to mingle with historic figures like President Reagan’s chief of staff instead. These funny little flukes are hard to ignore, especially when they happen to coordinate neatly with the tech world’s sometimes cozy relationship with the left.
Why is @Google suppressing the search about the Trump assassination attempt? These are all screenshots from this morning. Has there been a dramatic increase in Truman biographers in the last two weeks?
I’ll be making an official inquiry into @google this week – I look forward… pic.twitter.com/GD5SOvvcdX
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) July 28, 2024
This puzzling omission came on the heels of a bewildering statement from FBI Director Chris Wray, who openly questioned whether Trump had even faced a bullet in the bloody assassination attempt. Following significant backlash from conservatively-leaning lawmakers, the FBI hastily revised that narrative, yet it seems Google’s algorithm was still playing catch-up, perhaps overshadowed by its protective measures against perceived political violence. This leads to the reasonable question: if safety measures are in place, then why can’t they keep up with the historical events as they transpire?
Other conservatives, such as Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas, were quick to highlight the absurdity of Google’s search suggestions. While Truman’s assassination attempt managed to pull in the spotlight, Trump was seemingly left in the dust—again, underscoring a potential algorithmic bias towards downplaying the modern-day narratives surrounding the former president. Marshall stated that he would be making formal inquiries into Google, which raises the stakes for transparency regarding the platform’s inner workings. After all, what good is a search engine if it’s reluctant to provide an accurate reflection of current events?
Google’s response suggested that the absence of autocomplete options was a product of its protective systems kicking into gear following political violence, rather than any deliberate censorship. They claimed their systems work as intended, and managed to connect users to “helpful results” instead. However, conservative frustration lingers, particularly when Google proclaims that their autocomplete function merely serves as a means to save time. Perhaps the real punchline is that conservatives are left wondering if Google’s system isn’t serving just one side of the political spectrum. Meanwhile, Meta AI has also shied away from mentioning the Trump assassination attempt directly, only affirming that Trump has encountered “incidents that could be perceived” as attempts on his life. While vague euphemisms abound, the truth remains: censorship in the age of big tech is alive and well.
