Donald Trump recently took to his Truth Social platform to threaten Google. He claims the company shows too many negative stories about him and too many good ones about Kamala Harris. Trump even said this was illegal and vowed to punish Google if he wins the 2024 election. According to him, the Justice Department should prosecute Google for what he calls “interference” in elections. If they don’t, Trump says he will take matters into his own hands when he becomes president again.
This actually isn’t the first time Trump has attacked big tech companies. In fact, it’s a repeated pattern. During his time in office, he often accused companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google of being biased against him. His latest rant is just another example of his long-standing feud with these platforms. Trump believes that Google is purposely making him look bad and helping his political opponents.
Back in 2018, Trump made a similar claim. He said that 96% of Google search results about him came from what he called “left-wing media.” At that time, fact-checkers quickly pointed out that there was no proof of bias in Google’s search results. Google, like most tech companies, uses algorithms to sort through millions of news articles. These algorithms favor reliable sources, not political sides. So, if there are more negative stories about Trump, it’s probably because his actions at the time were being reported negatively.
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Trump’s desire to control the media narrative has been a key part of his approach. When the media reported things he didn’t like, he often labeled them “fake news.” In 2017, after NBC News reported on his disagreements with military leaders, Trump even suggested the network should lose its broadcasting license. It was another attempt to silence critics, showing his disdain for any news outlet that didn’t agree with him.
His fight with Google is also similar to what happened with Twitter and Facebook in 2020. When those platforms began flagging some of his posts for spreading misinformation—especially about the COVID-19 pandemic and election fraud—Trump didn’t hold back. He accused them of censoring him and signed an executive order trying to limit their legal protections. However, this order didn’t change much in the end.
Experts continue to point out that Google is not doing what Trump claims. Google’s search system is designed to show users the most relevant and trustworthy information. When Trump first accused the company of bias in 2018, Google responded by saying, “We never rank search results to manipulate political sentiment.” The platform works to show a variety of sources, and its rankings depend on the reliability of those sources.
Trump’s promise to prosecute Google if he becomes president again raises important legal questions. A president cannot simply prosecute a private company. The Justice Department is responsible for that, and it is supposed to be independent from political pressure. If Trump tries to force them to target Google, it would be a big violation of legal norms in the country.
Featured image via Political trumpTribune Gallery
