Google’s Autocomplete feature is being accused of omitting suggested results related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Users noticed that when they typed in search terms about the Pennsylvania rally shooting that targeted Trump, no suggestions for related searches appeared. Social media users, including Texas congressman Chip Roy and Donald Trump Jr., shared screenshots highlighting the lack of Autocomplete suggestions for Trump-related assassination attempts.
To investigate further, The Post conducted a series of test searches using the last names of US presidents who were killed or faced assassination attempts followed by the letters “assassi.” Autocomplete suggestions for notable presidents like John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Teddy Roosevelt all appeared. However, when the search term included Trump’s name, there were no Autocomplete suggestions provided.
Even when using more specific search terms like “Trump assassination attempt,” Google’s Autocomplete feature failed to provide any additional suggestions. While the search results themselves did point to news articles about the July 13 shooting incident, the lack of Autocomplete suggestions raised concerns about potential censorship or manipulation of search results.
A Google spokesperson responded to the issue, stating that there was no manual action taken to alter the Autocomplete predictions related to political violence. The spokesperson reassured that Google is constantly working on improvements to ensure their systems are up to date and that Autocomplete is meant to help users save time but does not limit their ability to search for any topic they choose. Despite the company’s explanation, the lack of Autocomplete suggestions continued to draw attention from concerned users and public figures.
The oddity surrounding Google’s Autocomplete suggestions gained widespread attention, with many users able to replicate the phenomenon on their own. Politicians like Congressman Chip Roy and Donald Trump Jr. highlighted the issue on social media, with Trump Jr. suggesting that Big Tech companies like Google were deliberately interfering in the election process to influence the outcome. The Post also conducted similar searches related to President Joe Biden, which similarly yielded no Autocomplete suggestions, raising questions about potential bias in search results.
In a separate incident, an individual named Sai Varshith Kandula, who claimed to be a neo-Nazi, attempted an attack by ramming a rented U-Haul truck into White House security barriers with the intent of killing the president. While not widely considered an assassination attempt, this incident underscores the ongoing threats faced by political figures and the responsibility of platforms like Google to provide accurate and unbiased information to users. The controversy surrounding Google’s Autocomplete feature and its handling of search results related to political violence highlights the challenges faced by tech companies in maintaining transparency and neutrality in their services.
