In the immediate aftermath of last month’s shocking assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump, search engine giant Google found itself in hot water. The reason? A technical issue with its auto-complete function.
Search terms relating to the assassination attempt appeared to be omitted from automated suggestions in Google’s search bar. Conservative social media users were quick to pile on, accusing the tech giant of political bias and active censorship.
These claims turned out to be unfounded – a content moderation feature was to blame – but they were hardly new. Many tech companies, including Google, have long been perceived as left-leaning.
