The Missouri Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, has initiated an investigation into Google, asserting that the tech behemoth is suppressing conservative viewpoints. This announcement was made on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, where Bailey accused Google of “waging war on the democratic process” and manipulating search results to diminish the visibility of information related to the Trump campaign ahead of Election Day.
Bailey stated, “I am launching an investigation into Google—the largest search engine in America—for censoring conservative speech during one of the most significant elections in our nation’s history. It’s time to fight back.” His post gained significant traction, amassing 1 million views.
🚨BREAKING: I am launching an investigation into Google – the biggest search engine in America – for censoring conservative speech during the most consequential election in our nation’s history.
Google is waging war on the democratic process.
It’s time to fight back.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) October 25, 2024
The investigation will likely involve subpoenas aimed at understanding how Google’s algorithms affect conservative content visibility in search results. Google has vehemently denied these allegations, with a spokesperson telling Reuters that the claims are “totally false.” They stated, “Search serves all our users, and our business relies on providing useful information to everyone—irrespective of their political beliefs.”
This investigation comes at a time of heightened conflict between Google and conservative figures, particularly Donald Trump. In a recent interview with Bloomberg News, Trump revealed that he reached out directly to Google CEO Sundar Pichai to express his concerns about search results predominantly showcasing negative stories about him.
Trump argued that Google’s search results unfairly highlight negative coverage, claiming, “If I have 20 good stories and 20 bad stories, they only show the 20 bad stories.” This isn’t the first time Google has been accused of having an anti-conservative bias. In July, Senator Roger Marshall announced an investigation after claiming Google neglected to show results related to an attempted assassination of Trump in search features.
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
In a letter to the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Marshall noted that Google’s search suggestions were inconsistent regarding President Trump following the assassination attempt. He remarked, “This failure to provide relevant and consistent results for users seeking information exemplifies Google’s ongoing efforts to editorialize conservative presidential candidates’ content.”
Additionally, a report by the Media Research Center claimed that Google has interfered in U.S. elections over 40 times in the past 16 years. A prominent case in 2020 involved Prager University, which accused Google/YouTube of discrimination against conservative content, although courts ultimately sided with Google, affirming their right to moderate content on their platforms.