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Google's booth at the Noah Technology conference in Berlin in June. (Krisztian Bocsi / Bloomberg)
Tony Romm
Technological Policy Editor
A leaked video of Google executives trying to console employees upset over the election of President Trump has infuriated the conservatives, who say the remarks illustrate the research giant's political bias and should prompt regulators to scrutinize the news. society.
The new controversy comes from a recording of about an hour published Wednesday by Breitbart. It shows leaders such as Google CEO Sergey Brin, the parent alphabet, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaking to staff at a private meeting a few days after the 2016 election, including Google's Pichai . "
In expressing dismay, Google executives have sought to appease employees, especially immigrants, given the new president's commitment before polling day, to strengthen border security. In doing so, Google executives encouraged their employees to understand "every aspect of the political spectrum," said Eileen Naughton, vice president of the company responsible for human operations.
But the Conservatives quickly seized Wednesday on the leaked video that Google was trying to undermine Trump and silence his supporters – and some White House allies have even suggested investigating the company accordingly.
"They control 91% of all searches and decide what everyone sees. If it's not a monopoly, I do not know what it is tweeted Donald Trump Jr.
Brad Parscale, chairman of the president's campaign, said the company "must explain why this is not a threat to the Republic." by adding his own tweet: "Congress Hearings! Investigate."
In response, Riva Sciuto, a spokeswoman for Google, defended the meeting of the search giant. "For more than 20 years, everyone at Google has been able to freely express their opinions at these meetings," she said in a statement. "Nothing has been said at this meeting or any other meeting, to suggest that any political bias influences the way we build or operate our products."
Yet the publication of the video – on Breitbart, a right-wing news site led by Stephen K. Bannon, the former strategist of the president – could pose a problem to Google in the nation's capital.
Like Facebook, Twitter and other peers, Google has for months resisted allegations that it stifled news and conservative views. In August, Trump accused Google of "rigging" the results of his research to post negative stories about him – an accusation that Google has strongly denied. And this week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Even threatened to drag Google to Capitol Hill to answer for his political tendencies. "An invitation will be launched" McCarthy tweeted. The GOP lawmaker has also helped orchestrate an entire congressional hearing centered on conservative bias allegations on Twitter, raising the specter that one of Google's executives may soon be forced to appear before his Republican critics.
The video unearthed by Breitbart provides insight into how the leaders and employees of Silicon Valley, a liberal-prone area of California that supported Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic opposition, reflected on the role of Trump has triggered an examination of conscience in the technology industry regarding echo chambers, false information and coastal elitism. Employees, on the other hand, have pushed their leaders to fight against Trump's program – particularly in immigration matters, since the technology industry employs a large number of highly skilled foreign workers.
Some technology companies did not immediately take on the responsibility of playing a role in the preparation of the elections. A few days after the vote, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the idea that the false information posted on Facebook was influencing the outcome of the US elections was "crazy." Later, Zuckerberg said he regrets his comments
Google executives, however, responded directly to these concerns at the meeting. Asked about misinformation and how his personalization algorithms shape people's opinions, Pichai said in the video that YouTube plays an important role in social media discussions. He also acknowledged that "access to information seems to create a selection bias".
For Breitbart, the recording reflects "a determinism aimed at thwarting Trump's agenda and the expanded populist movement that is needed in the world." The site relies on comments from leaders such as Kent Walker, who now oversees Walker has widely spoken of the rise of populist movements on a global scale, fueled by forces such as fear and "xenophobia".
Yet, the article omitted the full context of some exchanges between leaders and their employees. For example, a Google employee asked executives if they saw "something positive about this election result." Breitbart said that they had burst out laughing and that Brin had said, "It's really hard at the moment. at a time when Pichai and Page have highlighted the potential benefits: that Trump could improve US infrastructure or that this could be the end of the congress blocks.
Brin then said that no one knew what to expect from a Trump presidency.
"Maybe he'll do something big, who knows?" Said Brin. "It will take a little wishful thinking."
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