U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that Google results were “rigged” because searches for “Trump News” brought up negative stories about him, and questioned whether this was illegal.
“Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media,” he tweeted.
“In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal?”
According to Mr. Trump, “96% of results on ‘Trump News’ are from National Left-Wing Media”, which he described as “very dangerous”.
A Pew Research Center survey released in June found that 43% of Americans think major technology firms support the views of liberals over conservatives, and 72% accepted the idea that social media platforms actively censor opposing political views.
Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 85% said they think social media sites intentionally censor political viewpoints, Pew found.