Now Trump Is Threatening to Force Google to Prioritize Right Wing Media
It just never stops with the self-obsessed con man occupying the Oval Office. Now he’s promoting a completely false (of course, when is it not?) conspiracy theory that Google is somehow suppressing his sycophantic right wing media in search results. It’s so stupid and dishonest it makes my brain hurt.
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
….results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
President Trump: “I think that Google and Twitter and Facebook they’re really treading on very very troubled territory. And they have to be careful. It’s not fair to large portions of the population” pic.twitter.com/yK8Vg1iBJB
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 28, 2018
And because he’s the president, God help us, Google actually felt compelled to respond.
Breaking: Google statement in response to Trump tweet pic.twitter.com/QqMuxQ7gkj
— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) August 28, 2018
Of course, there’s an insidious reason why the Con Man in Chief is pushing this idiotic fake outrage, as Greg Sargent describes:
But while this might seem like typical Trumpian buffoonery, at its core is some deadly serious business. These attacks on the media — which are now spreading to extensive conspiracy-mongering about social media’s role in spreading information — form one part of an interlocking, two-piece Trumpian strategy (whether by instinct or design is unclear) that serves to underscore the urgency of this fall’s elections.
Trump is unleashing endless lies and attacks directed at the mechanisms of accountability that actually are functioning right now — the media, law enforcement and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation — to persuade his supporters not only that they shouldn’t believe anything they hear from these sources, but also to energize them and get them to vote, to protect him from those institutions’ alleged conspiracy against him.
At the same time, that campaign of lies is designed to get Republican voters out for the purpose of keeping in place the mechanism of accountability that is not functioning right now — the GOP-led Congress — preventing a Democratic takeover of the House, which would impose genuine accountability.