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US-INTERNET-POLITICS-TRUMP
Leaked video shows Google execs troubled by Trump election
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Far-right news website Breitbart
on Wednesday posted a leaked video showing Google executives sharing with
employees how troubled they were by the election of US President Donald
Trump.
The leak of the hour-long video from a TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) town
hall style gathering shortly after Trump won office in November of 2016 came
as the president and his allies accuse the leading search engine of bias
against politically conservative viewpoints.
“I know this is probably not the most joyous TGIF we have had,” Google co-
founder Sergey Brin said in the video.
“As an immigrant and a refugee, I certainly find this election deeply
offensive. I know many of you do, too.”
Brin said most people at the meeting were upset and saddened by an election
outcome that indicated many people in the US don’t share the values of those
at Google when it came to immigrants, minorities, women, and the world being
left to children.
Google chief executive Sundar Pichai also addressed the gathering, saying
that while the election was rife with rhetoric and division, people should
have faith in the democratic process.
Pichai said he thought one of the reasons for the election outcome was that
“people don’t feel heard on either side.”
“There is a lot of fear. It is important to reach out,” Pichai said.
Google executives urged employees to remain true to their values, and trust
that the internet can make lives better for people around the world, despite
its flaws.
Google told AFP that for more than 20 years employees have been free to
express personal viewpoints at all-hands get-togethers such as the one in the
video.
“Nothing was said in that meeting, or any other meeting, to suggest that
any political bias ever influences the way we build or operate our products,”
Google said in response to an AFP inquiry.
“To the contrary, our products are built for everyone, and we design them
with extraordinary care to be a trustworthy source of information for
everyone, without regard to political viewpoint.”
Google and other major US internet firms are facing intense scrutiny for
allowing the propagation of misinformation and hate speech, and allegations
of political bias from the president and some Republican lawmakers.
In a series of recent tweets, Trump assailed Google for what he termed
“rigged” results that hide news from conservative outlets and promote content
from what he called “left-wing” media.
That followed similar comments from Republican lawmakers including House
majority leader Kevin McCarthy, who claimed that “conservatives are too often
finding their voices silenced” on online platforms.
Technology and media analysts say there is little evidence to suggest
Google is skewing results for political reasons. And if they did, the
president would have little recourse under the constitution’s free-speech
protections.
But public perception is another matter.
A Pew Research Center survey released in June found 43 percent of Americans
think major technology firms support the views of liberals over
conservatives, and 72 percent accepted the idea that social media platforms
actively censor opposing political views.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1000 hrs