Google accused of aiding Democrats, censoring Republicans

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

A report published by the Media Research Center (MRC), a right-leaning nonprofit, has leveled accusations of "election interference" against Google, alleging the tech giant has systematically aided Democratic candidates while censoring Republicans in the last four U.S. presidential election cycles since 2008.

The 41-page report, titled "Google's Escalating Bias and Election Interference," claims the search engine "utilized its power to help push to electoral victory the most liberal candidates...while targeting their opponents for censorship."

Among the specific allegations, the MRC report states that in 2008, Google "suspended the accounts of writers who wrote blogs critical of Obama during his primary race against Clinton," effectively "targeting support for Hillary Clinton for censorship."

Four years later, during the 2012 election, the report accuses Google of favoring incumbent President Barack Obama over Republican challenger Mitt Romney and failing to correct a "Google bomb" that smeared GOP primary candidate Rick Santorum.

This article understates the magnitude of the problem – Google interferes to help Democrats thousands of times every election season!

This is to be expected when their censorship (aka “Trust & Safety”) teams are have far left political views. https://t.co/y36yzdzIUQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2024

In the 2016 race, the MRC cites data from researcher Dr. Robert Epstein, who told Congress that Google's search algorithm "shifted at least 2.5 million votes" to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in her failed bid against eventual winner Donald Trump. However, a source close to Google dismissed Epstein's claims as "widely debunked" due to flawed methodology.

The allegations continue into the 2020 cycle, with the MRC asserting Google "disabled" the ads account of Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard "just as she became the most searched candidate following the first Democratic Party primary debate." A Google source countered that automated systems had flagged unusual spending activity to prevent fraud, and the matter was resolved within hours, leading to Gabbard's subsequent lawsuit being dismissed.

For the 2022 Georgia Senate race, the report claims Google's search results "favored incumbent" Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock over Republican challenger Herschel Walker "in the swing precinct where greater proportions of undecided voters likely reside."

In response, a Google spokesperson told The Post the allegations are "baseless, inaccurate complaints that have been debunked by third parties and many that failed in the courts." The company asserted it has safeguards to prevent bias and a business incentive to remain impartial, adding that "numerous conservatives have been particularly successful in using our platforms to spread their message to a wide audience."