Staff Reports
Google and Meta have once again shown their true colors—suppressing critical information about an assassination attempt on Donald Trump. As if the election integrity wasn’t under enough attack already, it seems the tech overlords are doing their part to “rig” this election by treating First Amendment rights like a pesky gnat buzzing around rather than a fundamental principle.
In a curious twist of fate, Trump has raised the alarm about these tech giants’ blatant censorship efforts. The former president claims it’s another blatant maneuver to skew the electoral playing field, and let’s face it, when it comes to big tech meddling, he could have saved us time with a simple “here we go again” catchphrase. Meta, the parent company of social media behemoths like Facebook and Instagram, tried to act like the attempted assassination didn’t even happen, while their AI still couldn’t grasp its relevance days later. Talk about being out of touch!
.@Meta AI’s ridiculous denial of the assassination attempt, from July 16, several days after the shooting occurred: pic.twitter.com/k6l861Gke1
— Catherine Salgado (@CatSalgado32) July 30, 2024
Six days after the event, when someone asked Meta AI about the assassination attempt, the response was a classic deflection. The AI basically admitted it didn’t have the details but did manage to link the search to Bing—well, thank you for giving up without a fight. Apparently answering a straightforward question is OK, but making a call on something that shakes the very foundation of democracy is a no-go for Meta AI. Instead, it chose to lecture on violence, as if that’s going to get anyone on the right side of history.
And what of Google? Now there’s a name that’s synonymous with censorship. When searching for the assassination attempt on Trump, users were served a buffet of irrelevant autocompletes, offering suggestions like “Truman” and “Bob Marley.” Seriously, Google? It’s almost comical that they would try to downplay an actual attack against a former president by shoving historical figures and random musicians into the spotlight instead. How about focusing on the here and now rather than dusting off the old pages of the history book when the world is watching?
Furthermore, Google Trends paints a clear picture: searches for “assassination attempt on Trump” skyrocketed compared to antiquated options like “assassination attempts on Truman” or “Reagan.” With the number of inquiries being so disproportionately high, it seems like Google’s algorithms are either on a coffee break or have been tasked with some covert mission to erase Trump’s relevance. Is anyone surprised that the same company that has been caught red-handed censoring content for years is once again caught with its pants down?
Between Meta’s horrifyingly sluggish update times and Google’s ridiculous search suggestions, the tech giants are looking like the last champions of an outdated playbook. Despite a half-hearted apology from Meta, it’s clear both platforms are more interested in control than in providing accurate information. In the age of rapid-fire news cycles, it’s unfathomable that these companies can’t keep their artificial intelligence up to date with one of the biggest stories of the decade. If they can’t manage that, perhaps it’s time for them to consider new careers—like running a dinosaur museum.
