Conservatives accuse Google of suppressing information on Trump assassination attempt

The tech giant Google is facing backlash from conservatives in the United States over allegations of suppressing information about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The incident occurred at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, where Trump narrowly escaped being killed by a lone gunman.

Conservatives and Republicans have criticized Google for its autocomplete function, which failed to prompt searches related to the shooting of Trump. Instead, users were directed to search for information about attempted assassinations of other famous figures, sparking claims of information suppression and conspiracy theories.

High-profile figures like Texas Senator Ted Cruz and billionaire Elon Musk have accused Google of trying to manipulate information to influence the upcoming presidential election in November. Senator Roger Marshall also announced plans to make an official inquiry with the tech company.

Google has denied any manual intervention in the search predictions but stated that their autocomplete function includes protections against predictions related to political violence. The company emphasized that users can still search for any information they want and that they continue to provide helpful results.

While Google did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment, they told the New York Post that they are looking into the anomalies in their autocomplete function and working on improvements. Some commentators have noted that autocomplete’s limitations are not limited to content about Trump, with instances of other political figures like Vice President Kamala Harris also facing similar issues.

Despite the controversy, Google assured that their autocomplete systems are dynamic and will change based on common and trending queries. The situation highlights the ongoing debate surrounding tech companies and their handling of information, particularly when it comes to political content.