According to a recent report from the Media Research Center (MRC), Google, the influential tech giant in the online search and advertising industry, has been accused of engaging in a significant number of instances of election interference over a span of 16 years.
The report, conducted by MRC’s Free Speech America division, alleges that Google has consistently utilized its extensive technological capabilities to manipulate electoral results in support of leftist candidates. These allegations raise serious concerns about the actions of the Silicon Valley company and its impact on the democratic process.
“MRC researchers have found 41 times where Google interfered in elections over the last 16 years, and its impact has surged dramatically, making it evermore harmful to democracy. In every case, Google harmed the candidates – regardless of party – who threatened its left-wing candidate of choice,” announced Dan Schneider, vice president of MRC Free Speech America.
The study outlines a wide range of alleged violations, from manipulating algorithms to outright censorship. Some of the most serious accusations include claims that Google showed favoritism towards Barack Obama over his Republican opponents John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012, failed to address a defamatory “Google bomb” targeting Rick Santorum during the 2012 GOP primaries, and omitted potentially damaging autofill suggestions for Hillary Clinton in 2016 while not doing the same for Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders.
Additionally, the researchers claim that Google deactivated Tulsi Gabbard’s advertising account during the 2020 Democratic debates, suppressed negative news about Joe Biden, hid many Republican campaign websites during the competitive Senate races of 2022, and is actively supporting Biden’s 2024 campaign by “burying the campaign websites of all his major opponents in its search results.”.
The authors expanded, stating that “Utilizing the many tools in its arsenal, Google aided those who most closely aligned with its leftist values from election cycle to election cycle since as far back as the 2008 presidential election. Meanwhile, it targeted for censorship those candidates who posed the most serious threat,” they wrote.
