Elon Musk accuses Google of 'search ban' on Donald Trump
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has publicly accused Google of implementing a "search ban" on former US President Donald Trump. The tech mogul shared an image on his social media platform, X, showing a search box with the words "President Donald" typed in. However, Google's autocomplete feature suggested "Donald Duck" and "President Donald Regan," but not "President Donald Trump."
Google attributes issue to 'anomalies'
In response to Musk's allegations, Google attributed the autocomplete issue to "anomalies" that are affecting some searches related to the names of several past presidents and the current vice president. The tech giant clarified that these anomalies were technical in nature and assured that no manual actions were taken to alter the autocomplete feature. The company did not provide specific details about these technical anomalies.
Musk questions Google's autocomplete on Trump's assassination attempt
Musk further questioned Google's autocomplete feature when he noticed the absence of search results related to a recent assassination attempt on Trump. He asked if Google was meddling with US Presidential elections, stating, "Wow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump! Election interference?" Users searching for information about the July 13 assassination attempt found that autocomplete did not include results about the event.
Google defends autocomplete feature amidst controversy
Google defended its autocomplete feature, stating it is designed to provide a shortcut for people searching for specific terms and allows users to complete their own search query. The company also noted that their systems have built-in protections against autocomplete suggestions related to political violence, which were functioning as intended during this incident. "Our autocomplete systems are dynamic, so predictions will change based on common and trending queries," said the tech giant.
Musk's accusations amidst tech platforms' election influence concerns
Musk's accusations come at a time of increasing scrutiny over the potential influence of tech platforms on the 2024 presidential election. The Tesla CEO, who has previously endorsed Trump and pledged campaign donations, also shared an AI-generated video on X without any labels to reveal the origin of the clip. This video used a voice-cloning tool to mimic Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say. Musk later clarified that the video was intended as parody.
