Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Donald Trump Made Another Claim About Google's Supposed Bias Against Him, But A Simple Internet Search Proves Him Wrong

Donald Trump Made Another Claim About Google's Supposed Bias Against Him, But A Simple Internet Search Proves Him Wrong
US President Donald Trump speaks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower, August 15, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Fake news.

Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump again focused on his Twitter campaign against Google. He posted a new claim of bias by the internet giant.

In his latest Google targeting tweet, Trump posted the hashtag "#StopTheBias" along with a short blurry video stating Google failed to promote his State of the Union in 2017 and 2018 while they did promote President Barack Obama's. Who created the video is not specified.


As with the President's false claims about Google search results on Tuesday, it took little time or internet knowledge to prove the video's claims false.

First, Trump gave no State of the Union address in 2017 so there was no address to promote.

Similarly, President Obama issued no State of the Union in 2009 nor did President George W. Bush issue one in 2001. President's entering their first term in office may choose to address Congress for the first time, but only the outgoing President can give a State of the Union address in transition years.

Google promotes only the State of the Union, not presidential addresses to Congress. They did not promote Obama's 2009 first address to Congress.

In 2009 Bush chose not to give a final State of the Union and in 2017, Obama made the same choice. Only Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Ford and Carter chose to give a final State of the Union in transition years in the modern era.

Second, the blurry Trump posted video states Google failed to promote his actual first State of the Union in 2018. Except the image shown in the video is not a screenshot of Google's homepage from January 30, 2018 as annotated on the image.

People familiar with searching internet records via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine produced the actual record. On it, you can see Google provided the same promotion for Trump's first State of the Union as they did for Obama's.

In addition, the Reddit pro-Trump subreddit "The_Donald" posted a screenshot from Google promoting the President's State of the Union address during the actual speech on January 30, 2017 proving Google was promoting the speech while it occurred.

Google screenshot with link to State of the Union posted to pro-Trump subReddit at 9:36pm EST 1/30/2018 (Reddit)

The first part of Trump's latest indictment against Google results from a lack of knowledge of the traditions of the presidency. The second part—claiming Google failed to promote his first and only State of the Union in 2018—is a lie.

Google issued an official statement corroborating the information other internet sleuths used to refute the false accusations in the video Trump shared.

"On January 30, 2018, we highlighted the livestream of President Trump’s State of the Union on the google.com homepage. We have historically not promoted the first address to Congress by a new President, which is technically not a State of the Union address. As a result, we didn’t include a promotion on google.com for this address in either 2009 or 2017."

In addition to the issues related to Trump's claims about his own speeches, another image used in the video the President shared is also faked. The screenshot features the wrong Google logo for the supposed 2016 screen capture.

In 2015, Google updated their logo. The logo used for the faked 2016 screenshot includes the old Google logo.

So why did the President issue false claims against Google two days in a row? Why did someone create the faked images in the video?

Conservative activists and outlets promoted the hashtag and video as factual. Both Alex Jones Infowars and Kremlin-funded media outlet RT carried coverage of the false information, promoting it as true.

However reactions to the President's tweet trended on the side of those pointing out facts refuting the videos faked images...

...or people mocking either the President or his latest Twitter post.

Despite the President's claims against Google being factually challenged and easily debunked, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman confirmed their desire to have the Google CEO testify before their committee in an open hearing where they will also question Twitter and Facebook leadership.

More from People/donald-trump

Serena Williams; Coco Gauff
Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images; Robert Prange/Getty Images

Serena Williams Offers Cheeky Advice To Coco Gauff After She Smashed Her Racket Following Australian Open Loss

There's no better person to take advice from than someone who's gone through exactly what you're going through right now. Having four Olympic Gold medals might not hurt, either.

While participating in the Australian Open quarterfinals, tennis star Coco Gauff was moved to tears when she lost the competition to Elina Svitolina. But the cameras kept rolling after she stepped off the court, revealing that she smashed her tennis racket out of frustration once alone in the back halls of the athletic center.

Keep ReadingShow less
TikToker Romeo Bingham; Dr. Pepper
@romeosshow/TikTok; Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images

People Are Floored After Dr. Pepper Actually Uses TikToker's Catchy Jingle In Commercial

Let's be real: You'll never get what you want if you don't shoot your shot.

That was what TikToker Romeo Bingham decided when she was bored and suddenly came up with the idea for a new jingle for Dr. Pepper.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jennifer Grey Shares Poignant Thoughts After 'Dirty Dancing' Sequel Is Set To Start Filming—And Fans Are Thrilled
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Getty Images

Jennifer Grey Shares Poignant Thoughts After 'Dirty Dancing' Sequel Is Set To Start Filming—And Fans Are Thrilled

In 1987, audiences had the time of their lives when Dirty Dancing hit theaters. Nearly 40 years later, that story is officially stepping back onto the dance floor.

Lionsgate announced Tuesday, January 27, that Jennifer Grey will reprise her role as Frances “Baby” Houseman in an upcoming Dirty Dancing sequel. The project will be produced by The Hunger Games and Crazy Rich Asians producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, with filming expected to begin later this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
TikTok logo
illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images

TikTok Now Claims A 'Power Outage' Is To Blame For The App's Massive Glitches—But The Internet Isn't So Sure

The new owners of U.S. TikTok—American investors to satisfy safety concerns about the app created by the Chinese technology company ByteDance—have an explanation for ongoing problems experienced by users beginning Sunday morning.

For context, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump infamously ranted about the app and vowed to permanently ban it from the United States during his first term in office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Megyn Kelly; Picture of Alex Pretti from memorial
The Megyn Kelly Show; Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Megyn Kelly Slammed After Boasting About Why She Doesn't 'Feel Sorry' For ICE Shooting Victim Alex Pretti

Right-wing talk show host Megyn Kelly was slammed after she shared her reasons for not feeling "sorry" for ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by ICE agents over the weekend.

Calls for an investigation have intensified from across the political spectrum after analysis of multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti—a weapon that authorities said Pretti was permitted to carry but was not handling at the time—before fatally shooting him.

Keep ReadingShow less