Gabriela Pariseau
newsbusters.org
Gabriela is a writer and researcher in the Media Research Center’s Free Speech America division. She is a graduate of Christendom College where she earned a B.A. in History. Gabriela has also contributed to The Catholic Register, Students For Life of America and Iowa Right to Life.
Google is barring Truth Social from the Google Play Store, meaning a reported 44 percent of Americans can’t access the pro-free speech application.
“Google is cancelling conservatives ahead of an election. They’re not even hiding their efforts to sway elections anymore,” tweeted Media Research Center President Brent Bozell.
Axios reported that Google has not yet approved Truth Social’s Android app for distribution on the Google Play Store. CEO of Truth Social Devin Nunes said “when” former President Donald Trump’s social media app will be available on Android is “up to the Google Play Store.”
When reached for comment, a Google spokesperson told MRC Free Speech America:
“On August 19 we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies in their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play. Last week Truth Social wrote back acknowledging our feedback and saying that they are working on addressing these issues.”
When asked for clarification, Google responded further: “Truth Social is not banned from Google Play. In fact, their app is up for preorder right now: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.truthsocial.android.app&hl=en_US&gl=US.”
The app is, as of the publishing of this piece, available on the Apple App Store and via Internet browser. However, on the Google Play Store, you can only “Pre-register” at this time.
But Google has a sordid history of bias against the right and of censoring information that goes against the left’s narrative on a wide array of topics.
- Google didn’t acknowledge that former President Donald Trump was ever president. In October 2021, former President Trump was the only U.S. president whose Google about section gave no indication of his presidential office. Every other U.S. president’s short biography either mentioned the presidential office or listed the years of the “presidential term.” The platform corrected the bio at least 135 days after MRC Free Speech America reported on the censorship.
Former President Trump blasted Google’s censorship in an exclusive quote to MRC Free Speech America: “It’s a disgrace to our Country. I got them by surprise in 2016 and they said we’ll never let it happen again. They should be punished.”
- An NC State study found that Google marked emails of right-leaning candidates as spam. A North Carolina State University (NC State) study found that Gmail marked 59.3 per cent more emails from right-leaning candidates as spam compared to left-leaning candidates. “It appears that the political affiliation of the sender plays [a] role in getting an email marked as spam,” part of the conclusion read. Google filed with the Federal Elections Commission to correct the issue, but Republican politicians appear sceptical.
“It is difficult to see how the proposed filing with the FEC to conduct a pilot program accomplishes anything beyond delay and distraction from reforming [Google’s] practices to allow for transparent, fair and equal treatment of Republicans and Democrats,” Sen. Steve Daines told MRC Free Speech America in an e-mail.
- The world’s biggest search engine has repeatedly censored pro-life ads. The platform infamously removed two Live Action ads in Sept 2021, according to the organization’s founder Lila Rose. “BREAKING: At the request of abortion activists, @Google has just BANNED all of @LiveAction‘s pro-life ads, including those promoting the Abortion Pill Reversal treatment, a resource that has saved 2500 children to date,” she tweeted. Rose also included a screenshot that flagged the ads for “medical misinformation” and “restricted medical content.” The company reportedly also censored ads from Choose Life Marketing and Life Site News.
- Google blocked Dr. Vladimir Zelenko from sharing documents on alternative COVID-19 treatments. Google Docs restricted the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, the first doctor to advocate for alternative COVID-19 treatments, from sharing six different documents. Users received a terms of service note when the doctor tried to share the documents with them. “We’re sorry. You can’t access this item because it is in violation of our Terms of Service,” went the Google alert. It was unclear what rule was broken. The six documents that Google censored included an op-ed Zelenko wrote and a letter he sent to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the pandemic. The platform made similar moves against documentation of COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
- Google partnered with Axios to track user searches of political topics in each congressional district. Last November, Axios announced an election-related data analysis project with Google Trends. “In a first-of-its-kind project we’re unveiling today, one year out from the 2022 midterm elections, Axios and Google Trends will be tracking which political issues voters are searching for in each congressional district over the course of the next year.” Psychologist and researcher Dr. Robert Epstein, PhD told MRC Free Speech America just how dangerous it is for Google to have access to such specific voter information.
“Among other things, this allows Google to keep a close eye on voters who are undecided and whose opinions can still be changed,” he said. “The detailed information they have about each and every one of us allows them to effectively shift opinions with biased search results, search suggestions, answer boxes, answers on personal assistants (Google Home and the Google Assistant on Android phones), YouTube videos, targeted messages, and more.”
This isn’t the first time Google has gone after a pro-free speech platform. First, the left went after social media startup Parler, purging the platform from the Internet following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The company removed the Parler app from its store and Apple threatened to do the same just two days after the riot.
