Google 'interfered' with US elections dozens of times since 2008: Report

Google has "interfered" in U.S. elections dozens of times since 2008, according to a new report from the Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog.

Researchers at the center identified 41 times over the past 16 years where Google interfered in elections, a claim which the tech platform has strongly denied.

"In every case, Google harmed the candidates–regardless of party–who threatened its left-wing candidate of choice," the report, published Monday by Fox News Digital, states. 

In 2008, for example, Google "allied itself" with then-candidate Barack Obama and censored bloggers supporting then-candidate Hillary Clinton, per the report. 

The next presidential election, in 2012, saw Google's algorithm negatively impacting Sen. Rick Santorum, the leading GOP primary candidate, according to the researchers. 

Google's interference also extended to every federal election cycle since 2016, and it's already impacting the 2024 election, the report states. 

Researchers recommended House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to direct committees to investigate the platform and for Americans to "stop using Google products, particularly Google Search and instead opt for one of the many alternatives."

Google disputed the report. 

"There is absolutely nothing new here - just a recycled list of baseless, inaccurate complaints that have been debunked by third parties and many that failed in the courts," a spokesperson for the company said. "We have a clear business incentive to keep everyone using our products, so we have no desire to make them biased or inaccurate and have safeguards in place to ensure this."

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