By Gloria Ogbonna
Former President Donald Trump issued a stern warning on Friday, stating that he plans to request the criminal prosecution of Google at “maximum levels” if he returns to office in 2024.
In a fiery post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused the tech giant of engaging in “illegal activity” by manipulating its search engine results to harm his political image while promoting favorable content about Vice President Kamala Harris.
In his post, Trump claimed that Google is purposefully skewing search results to highlight negative stories about him while promoting only positive coverage of Harris.
“Google has illegally used a system of only revealing and displaying bad stories about Donald J. Trump,” he wrote, “while simultaneously only revealing good stories about Comrade Kamala Harris.” He went on to say that this represents a form of election interference, urging the Justice Department to take action.
“This is ILLEGAL ACTIVITY,” he declared, “and hopefully the Justice Department will criminally prosecute them for this blatant interference in elections.”
Trump also indicated that if the Justice Department fails to act, he would personally take the matter into his own hands if he is re-elected.
“If not, and subject to the laws of our country, I will request their prosecution, at the maximum levels, when I win the election and become President of the United States!”
Allegations of Bias and Election Interference
Trump’s accusations against Google are not new, but his recent comments reflect growing concerns among conservative circles regarding the role of big tech in shaping political narratives.
The former president’s renewed criticism comes amid ongoing allegations that Google and other tech platforms favor liberal candidates and suppress conservative voices.
These claims have been supported by studies conducted by conservative watchdog organizations. A recent study by the Media Research Center (MRC) provides evidence that Google may be manipulating search results in ways that disproportionately benefit left-leaning candidates.
The study revealed that Google’s search results for political figures tend to feature articles from mainstream, left-leaning media outlets at the top, while conservative content and Republican candidates’ official websites are buried much lower in the rankings.
In one example cited by the MRC, researchers compared the search results for “Donald Trump presidential race 2024” and “Kamala Harris presidential race 2024.”
The search results for Trump featured six articles from left-wing news sources like CNN, The New York Times, and Politico before his campaign website even appeared. In contrast, searches for Kamala Harris placed her official campaign site higher up, with much more favorable coverage listed above it.
This pattern of skewed results, according to critics like Trump, constitutes a form of digital election interference that could shape voters’ perceptions by controlling the information they see when researching candidates.
MRC President Brent Bozell has echoed Trump’s concerns, stating, “Google is blatantly interfering in the 2024 election,” and highlighting that this bias seems to extend beyond Trump to include other conservative and pro-life candidates who receive less visibility in search results.
Previous Allegations and Concerns Over Censorship
This is not the first time Google has faced accusations of bias. In June, another MRC study claimed that Google had buried Trump’s campaign site during the 2020 election cycle, while consistently pushing Joe Biden’s website to the top of search results.
The timing of this revelation, coming just days before a highly anticipated presidential debate, fueled further claims of election meddling on the part of the tech giant.
The 2020 study found that when users searched for terms related to the presidential race, Biden’s campaign site was consistently ranked at the top, while Trump’s site was often not even visible on the first page.
Critics argue that this discrepancy represents a deliberate attempt to favor Democratic candidates by filtering the information that users can easily access.
Another controversy arose when Google was accused of censoring search results related to an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
During a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a man allegedly attempted to attack the former president, but when users searched for “assassination attempt on” in Google’s search bar, the autocomplete feature failed to suggest the recent incident involving Trump.
Instead, it displayed suggestions for historical figures such as Ronald Reagan and musician Bob Marley. This led to further accusations of censorship and bias.
When questioned about the issue, a Google spokesperson denied any intentional action to suppress the search results and explained that their systems have protections in place to avoid promoting content related to political violence.
The company insisted that their algorithms were functioning as intended, but the explanation did little to quell concerns among critics.
Trump’s Political Agenda and Big Tech
Trump’s sharp rhetoric against Google and other big tech companies has been a consistent theme since his presidency. He has repeatedly accused social media platforms, search engines, and mainstream media outlets of working against him and his conservative allies.
During his time in office, Trump signed executive orders aimed at curbing the power of big tech, and his calls for regulation grew louder after his personal Twitter account was permanently suspended following the January 6 Capitol riots.
Should Trump be re-elected, his vow to prosecute Google signals a continuation of his broader agenda to take on big tech, which he and his supporters believe is undermining the democratic process.
His statement that he would pursue “maximum prosecution levels” reflects a no-holds-barred approach that could result in significant legal battles between a Trump administration and the tech industry.
With the 2024 election fast approaching, it’s clear that the debate over big tech’s role in shaping political outcomes is far from over.
Trump’s threats against Google, combined with ongoing investigations and studies by organizations like the MRC, are likely to keep this issue at the forefront of public discourse.
As the election season intensifies, the accusations of bias, election interference, and the influence of big tech will continue to play a significant role in shaping not only the campaigns but also the broader political landscape of the United States.
Source Breitbrat
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