{"id":653037,"date":"2025-02-11T04:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T01:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/"},"modified":"2025-02-11T04:45:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T01:45:15","slug":"is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"#Is Google biased? An SEO veteran\u2019s perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2947da231fc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2947da231fc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#This_deep_dive_uses_SEO_tools_and_data_analysis_to_explore_the_claims_controversies_and_facts_behind_political_search_results\" >This deep dive uses SEO tools and data analysis to explore the claims, controversies, and facts behind political search results.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#%E2%80%98Google_bias_in_the_2024_election\" >\u2018Google bias\u2019 in the 2024 election?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#Accusations_of_Google_bias\" >Accusations of Google bias<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#The_facts\" >The facts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#The_data\" >The data<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#Is_this_proof_of_Googles_bias\" >Is this proof of Google\u2019s bias?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#How_one-sided_news_can_affect_public_opinion\" >How one-sided news can affect public opinion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#Did_Google_do_anything_wrong\" >Did Google do anything wrong?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-google-biased-an-seo-veterans-perspective\/#The_future_of_news\" >The future of news<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"This_deep_dive_uses_SEO_tools_and_data_analysis_to_explore_the_claims_controversies_and_facts_behind_political_search_results\"><\/span>This deep dive uses SEO tools and data analysis to explore the claims, controversies, and facts behind political search results.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\n<p>One question that we\u2019ve been hearing over and over again since the 2016 election is:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is Google biased?<\/p>\n<p>There are no shortages of opinions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sundar Pichai <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-46521887\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">went before Congress in 2018<\/a> and swore under oath, \u201cI\u2019m confident we don\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach our work with any political bias.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He also <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/google-ceo-warns-staff-stay-nonpartisan-1537580004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sent an internal memo<\/a> to staff warning them against letting their personal politics affect their work.<\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk, on the other hand, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1844435192884416611?lang=en\">posted to X<\/a>, \u201cGoogle is controlled by far left activists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A conservative organization, the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Research Center, routinely posts <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbusters.org\/blogs\/free-speech\/gabriela-pariseau\/2024\/03\/18\/41-times-google-has-interfered-us-elections-2008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">articles<\/a> that show supposed \u201cproof\u201d of Google\u2019s political bias, while left-leaning Vox posted <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/recode\/2019\/8\/7\/20756726\/trump-google-biased-conservatives-how-search-works-explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an article<\/a> mocking conservatives for not understanding how SEO works.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019re just reading all the back-and-forth and getting tired of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Too many opinions on both sides are based on confirmation bias, sensationalism, or a fundamental misunderstanding of how SEO really works.<\/p>\n<p>And so I thought I\u2019d jump into this hornet\u2019s nest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Like everyone else, I have my own biases but I\u2019m going to do my best to keep them at bay.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead, let\u2019s use SEO tools and techniques to see if we can come to a definitive answer.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-google-bias-in-the-2024-election\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Google_bias_in_the_2024_election\"><\/span>\u2018Google bias\u2019 in the 2024 election?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Throughout the 2024 election, there were many stories about Google\u2019s supposed \u201cbias.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at some of the more prevalent ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In June, the Media Research Center <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/theMRC\/status\/1806056742310060459\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accused Google<\/a> of \u201cblacklisting\u201d President Trump\u2019s official campaign website because it wouldn\u2019t rank for [donald trump presidential race 2024] and [republican party presidential campaign websites].<\/p>\n<p>The problem with this is that even a junior SEO could have seen that Donald Trump\u2019s website was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20240604030859\/https:\/\/donaldjtrump.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pretty horrifically optimized<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Their home page title tag read <strong>Home | Donald J. Trump<\/strong>, and most of their substantive content was hidden in a PDF.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In July, many people including <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DonaldJTrumpJr\/status\/1817581431243395237\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Donald Trump, Jr.<\/a> accused Google of \u201celection interference\u201d because Google autocomplete would not suggest President Trump\u2019s name when someone typed in \u201cassassination attempt on\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Google\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewsFromGoogle\/status\/1817669375987433764\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">official explanation<\/a> was that they have \u201cprotections in place against autocomplete predictions associated with political violence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To be honest, I didn\u2019t buy that (I could see autocomplete for other contemporary figures), but I just chalked it up to Google autocomplete was embarrassingly slow to update.<\/p>\n<p>The third incident to make waves was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cb_doge\/status\/1853874621897912671\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on Election Day<\/a>, when searches for [how to vote harris] spawned a box that told people where to go for their nearest polling place, while [how to vote trump] did not.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google PR explained that this was because \u201cHarris\u201d is also the name of a county in the U.S., while \u201cTrump\u201d is not.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Again, a perfectly plausible explanation.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands of conservative accounts jumped on these incidents as definitive proof of Google interfering in the election.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The mistake they made was assuming that Google is infallible.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In reality, anyone with a passing understanding of Hanlon\u2019s Razor \u2013 which suggests we should not attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence \u2013 would see that it applied in all three cases.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-accusations-of-google-bias\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Accusations_of_Google_bias\"><\/span>Accusations of Google bias<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The problem with focusing on noise like this is that it detracts from the real question.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Do Google search results have bias, and is that bias enough to unduly influence people?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Through the years, a number of whistleblowers and researchers came forward with supposed proof of Google bias. Some highlights:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In November 2016, following the presidential election,\u00a0 an anonymous source within Google sent a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2018\/09\/12\/leaked-video-google-leaderships-dismayed-reaction-to-trump-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">leaked video<\/a> to the conservative outlet Breitbart showing Google executives\u2019 and employees\u2019 negative reaction to the election results.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In subsequent years a number of whistleblowers from within Google came out to provide their reports of bias that they perceived within Google.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In July 2019, senior engineer Greg Coppola came forward to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-7282227\/Google-whistle-blower-says-ridiculous-suggest-unbiased.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">publicly disagree<\/a> with his CEO\u2019s claim that searches were unbiased.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In August 2019, senior software engineer Zach Vorhies released hundreds of pages of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20190626012608\/https:\/\/www.projectveritas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SS1DocDump.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">internal Google documents<\/a> that allegedly showed evidence of manipulation, from <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fullmeasure.news\/news\/cover-story\/big-tech-censorship-part-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">intervening in the algorithm<\/a> to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fullmeasure.news\/news\/follow-the-money\/big-tech-censorship-part-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">maintaining blocklists<\/a>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One of the more interesting presentations was about \u201calgorithmic unfairness,\u201d which discussed the need for search results to reflect a desired state, even if it didn\u2019t reflect current realities.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>While not a Google employee, Robert Epstein was a research scientist who went on a number of conservative outlets with research purporting to show <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mygoogleresearch.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google manipulating public opinion<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The problem with all of this? Because this evidence was mainly hearsay, opinions were split like a Rorschach test.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives, including <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20190814211124\/https:\/\/gohmert.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399712\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">members of Congress<\/a>, pointed to them as definitive proof of Google\u2019s bias, while many in the mainstream media <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/project-veritas-and-whistle-blower-published-bullshit-data-leak-to-dox-google-employees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dismissed them as conspiracy theories<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-facts\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_facts\"><\/span>The facts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a step back and look at objective facts:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From 1998 to 2018, Google was powered by their original algorithm based mainly on PageRank. That worked really well in the beginning but as more people understood Google\u2019s algorithm, poor quality sites began to rank. Despite their efforts with Panda and Penguin, it became clear that too many legitimately dangerous sites were making their way into Google\u2019s results.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The Aug. 1 2018 broad core update (a.k.a., the Medic Update) was Google\u2019s first big attempt to go beyond reactively fighting content and link manipulation and proactively combat this, starting with financial and medical topics (YMYL).<\/li>\n<li>Most of us in the SEO space had our suspicions that Google was putting its finger on the scales for other types of searches. In May 2024, leaked documents from Google confirmed that Google\u2019s organic algorithm indeed treated COVID and election-related searches differently than others through two factors called IsCovidAuthority and IsElectionAuthority, respectively.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>None of this is a smoking gun either.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Those who attack Google say this circumstantial evidence is enough to prove Google\u2019s bias.<\/p>\n<p>Defenders of Google will say that all of these steps were necessary to fight the real problem of bona fide misinformation and scams.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-data\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_data\"><\/span>The data<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So, is Google biased?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead of giving you my opinion, I\u2019m going to show you how you can use SEO tools and techniques to figure it out for yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The two tools I use most often for my SEO work are Semrush and Ahrefs. Both of them have a useful feature: the ability to go back in history and see historical SERPs.<\/p>\n<p>For example, these are the top 10 organic results for searches on \u201cdonald trump\u201d that Semrush reports from October 2024, one month before Election Day.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1140\" height=\"902\" alt=\"Semrush - top 10 organic results for searches on \u201cdonald trump\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp 1140w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-427x338.png.webp 427w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-758x600.png.webp 758w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-143x113.png.webp 143w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-768x608.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1140\" height=\"902\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp\" alt=\"Semrush - top 10 organic results for searches on \u201cdonald trump\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp 1140w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-427x338.png.webp 427w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-758x600.png.webp 758w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-143x113.png.webp 143w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-768x608.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>And here\u2019s what Ahrefs reports for October 15, 2024.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\" alt=\"Ahrefs - top 10 organic results for searches on \u201cdonald trump\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp 1199w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-600x338.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-800x450.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-200x113.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-768x432.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp\" alt=\"Ahrefs - top 10 organic results for searches on \u201cdonald trump\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump.png.webp 1199w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-600x338.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-800x450.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-200x113.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-10-organic-results-for-searches-on-donald-trump-768x432.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Both are similar.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The slight variations are due to variations in the way that Semrush and Ahrefs obtain their Google results.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re still in Rorschach test territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Those who accuse Google of bias will look at the results and cry foul because CNN, AP, Wikipedia, and The Guardian \u2013 all known for being left-leaning \u2013 are showing up.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Those defending Google will point to Donald Trump\u2019s website and his multiple social media accounts showing up as proof that Google is unbiased.<\/p>\n<p>What if we could take a look at every question that people asked about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris during the election, take the top 10 results for each, and run an analysis of which media outlets are cited most often?<\/p>\n<p>We can. Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n<p>For this one I\u2019m going to use Ahrefs (which allows me to output 1,000 queries and their top 10 positions and to filter based on date).<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I searched for \u201cQuestions\u201d that people ask about \u201cdonald trump.\u201d I filtered on searches that were seen before Election Day 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1164\" alt=\"Ahrefs - \u201cQuestions\u201d that people ask about \u201cdonald trump\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-595x338.png.webp 595w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-800x455.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-200x113.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-768x436.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-1536x873.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1164\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump.png.webp\" alt=\"Ahrefs - \u201cQuestions\u201d that people ask about \u201cdonald trump\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-595x338.png.webp 595w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-800x455.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-200x113.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-768x436.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-Questions-that-people-ask-about-donald-trump-1536x873.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Next, I exported the top 1,000 questions with the top 10 positions for each.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1754\" height=\"1330\" alt=\"Ahrefs - top 1,000 questions with the top 10 positions\" class=\"wp-image-451692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions.png.webp 1754w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-446x338.png.webp 446w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-791x600.png.webp 791w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-149x113.png.webp 149w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-768x582.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-1536x1165.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1754px) 100vw, 1754px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1754\" height=\"1330\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions.png.webp\" alt=\"Ahrefs - top 1,000 questions with the top 10 positions\" class=\"wp-image-451692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions.png.webp 1754w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-446x338.png.webp 446w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-791x600.png.webp 791w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-149x113.png.webp 149w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-768x582.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Ahrefs-top-1000-questions-with-the-top-10-positions-1536x1165.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1754px) 100vw, 1754px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I uploaded the CSV file to ChatGPT and asked it to go through the list and tally up how often each <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> outlet or website appeared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"773\" height=\"690\" alt=\"ChatGPT CSV file\u00a0\" class=\"wp-image-451693\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file.png.webp 773w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-379x338.png.webp 379w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-672x600.png.webp 672w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-127x113.png.webp 127w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-768x686.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 773px) 100vw, 773px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"773\" height=\"690\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file.png.webp\" alt=\"ChatGPT CSV file\u00a0\" class=\"wp-image-451693\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file.png.webp 773w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-379x338.png.webp 379w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-672x600.png.webp 672w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-127x113.png.webp 127w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/ChatGPT-CSV-file-768x686.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 773px) 100vw, 773px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I repeated the process for questions containing \u201ckamala harris\u201d and tallied everything up. At this point I had a list of all sites that ranked in the top 10 for the top 1,000 questions about Trump and Harris.<\/li>\n<li>Next, I cross referenced this list with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allsides.com\/media-bias\/media-bias-chart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media bias charts from AllSides<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1627\" height=\"2048\" alt=\"AllSides media bias chart\" class=\"wp-image-451694\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-scaled.webp 1627w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-269x338.webp 269w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-477x600.webp 477w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-90x113.webp 90w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-768x967.webp 768w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-1221x1536.webp 1221w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1627px) 100vw, 1627px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-scaled.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1627\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-scaled.webp\" alt=\"AllSides media bias chart\" class=\"wp-image-451694\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-scaled.webp 1627w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-269x338.webp 269w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-477x600.webp 477w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-90x113.webp 90w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-768x967.webp 768w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/AllSides-media-bias-chart-1221x1536.webp 1221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1627px) 100vw, 1627px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>My goal here was to see whether Google organic search favored sites of a particular political persuasion. Here\u2019s what the results were.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1042\" height=\"326\" alt=\"Table (AllSides) - Does Google organic search favored sites of a particular political persuasion\" class=\"wp-image-451695\" style=\"width:700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp 1042w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-600x188.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-800x250.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-200x63.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-768x240.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1042px) 100vw, 1042px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1042\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp\" alt=\"Table (AllSides) - Does Google organic search favored sites of a particular political persuasion\" class=\"wp-image-451695\" style=\"width:700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp 1042w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-600x188.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-800x250.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-200x63.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-AllSides-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-768x240.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1042px) 100vw, 1042px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>To double-check, I cross-referenced the list against <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/adfontesmedia.com\/static-mbc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ad Fontes Media\u2019s Static Media Bias Chart<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I took every site they listed in this chart that was rated 24.0 and above in News Value and Reliability.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1164\" height=\"317\" alt=\"Table (Ad Fontes) - Does Google organic search favored sites of a particular political persuasion\" class=\"wp-image-451697\" style=\"width:720px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp 1164w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-600x163.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-800x218.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-200x54.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-768x209.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1164px) 100vw, 1164px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1164\" height=\"317\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp\" alt=\"Table (Ad Fontes) - Does Google organic search favored sites of a particular political persuasion\" class=\"wp-image-451697\" style=\"width:720px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion.png.webp 1164w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-600x163.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-800x218.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-200x54.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Table-Ad-Fontes-Does-Google-organic-search-favored-sites-of-a-particular-political-persuasion-768x209.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1164px) 100vw, 1164px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Neither AllSides nor Ad Fontes are perfect.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the left will likely disagree with AllSides\u2019s characterization of AP as \u201cleft,\u201d while the right will likely disagree with Ad Fontes\u2019s characterization of RealClearPolitics as \u201cstrong right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But on the whole, these are the best out there (at least as far as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=media+bias+chart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google is concerned<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-is-this-proof-of-google-s-bias\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_this_proof_of_Googles_bias\"><\/span>Is this proof of Google\u2019s bias?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m going to get half of America mad at me now.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, there is pretty clear evidence that Google\u2019s organic results demonstrate bias when it comes to political searches.<\/p>\n<p>But don\u2019t take my word for it. Repeat the process above for any political phrase you can think of.<\/p>\n<p>Note that Google is not \u201ccensoring\u201d conservative and right-leaning outlets \u2013 you can still find them in search results if you search on their brand name.<\/p>\n<p>But do any kind of non-branded search and you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find them ranking.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t always this way.<\/p>\n<p>Note in this screenshot how in August 2016 it was fairly common to see centrist outlets like RealClearPolitics and right-leaning outlets like the Washington Times alongside left-leaning outlets like CNN and The Atlantic for searches for \u201cdonald trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1388\" height=\"584\" alt=\"Aug. 2016 - position history for \u201cdonald trump.\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451698\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump.png.webp 1388w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-600x252.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-800x337.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-200x84.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-768x323.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1388px) 100vw, 1388px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1388\" height=\"584\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump.png.webp\" alt=\"Aug. 2016 - position history for \u201cdonald trump.\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451698\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump.png.webp 1388w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-600x252.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-800x337.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-200x84.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Aug.-2016-position-history-for-donald-trump-768x323.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1388px) 100vw, 1388px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can see from this chart of SEO traffic and keywords what happened to RealClearPolitics.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Somewhere around April 2020, their SEO traffic and keywords fell off a cliff.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"902\" height=\"550\" alt=\"Semrush chart of SEO performance for RealClearPolitics.com\" class=\"wp-image-451699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp 902w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-554x338.png.webp 554w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-800x488.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-185x113.png.webp 185w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-768x468.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 902px) 100vw, 902px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"902\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp\" alt=\"Semrush chart of SEO performance for RealClearPolitics.com\" class=\"wp-image-451699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp 902w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-554x338.png.webp 554w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-800x488.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-185x113.png.webp 185w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-768x468.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 902px) 100vw, 902px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Semrush chart of SEO performance for RealClearPolitics.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Today, 92% of their Google traffic comes from branded searches.<\/p>\n<p>Contrast that to The Atlantic, where 78.4% of SEO traffic is unbranded.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"189\" alt=\"Semrush chart of Branded vs. Non-Branded Traffic for RealClearPolitics.com\" class=\"wp-image-451700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp 683w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-600x166.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-200x55.png.webp 200w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"189\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp\" alt=\"Semrush chart of Branded vs. Non-Branded Traffic for RealClearPolitics.com\" class=\"wp-image-451700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_.png.webp 683w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-600x166.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-Branded-vs.-Non-Branded-Traffic-for-RealClearPolitics.com_-200x55.png.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Semrush chart of Branded vs. Non-Branded Traffic for RealClearPolitics.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can see similar patterns around that time with other right-leaning sites like The Blaze, The Federalist, and Breitbart, as well as left-leaning sites like Mother Jones and HuffPost.<\/p>\n<p>While those sites flailed in SEO, mainstream news sites like The New York Times and CNN skyrocketed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"553\" alt=\"Semrush chart of SEO performance for NYTimes.com\" class=\"wp-image-451701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_.png.webp 898w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-549x338.png.webp 549w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-800x493.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-183x113.png.webp 183w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-768x473.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_.png.webp\" alt=\"Semrush chart of SEO performance for NYTimes.com\" class=\"wp-image-451701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_.png.webp 898w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-549x338.png.webp 549w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-800x493.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-183x113.png.webp 183w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Semrush-chart-of-SEO-performance-for-NYTimes.com_-768x473.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Semrush chart of SEO performance for NYTimes.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>What happened?<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, Google likely implemented changes similar to those in its 2018 Medic update.<\/p>\n<p>The Medic update aimed to protect users from harmful health and finance content.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, black hat SEO tactics allowed fraudulent sites to outrank legitimate ones, leading to financial scams and misinformation, in thousands of cases harming the most vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n<p>Many elderly and low-income individuals were defrauded, and those with serious illnesses were misled by false medical claims.<\/p>\n<p>To counter this, Google manually boosted high-authority sites to ensure reliable information surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>Internally, many within Google likely viewed political content as an extension of the \u201cYour Life\u201d portion of YMYL.<\/p>\n<p>This likely led to the creation of a list of trusted and untrusted sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While that information isn\u2019t public, it\u2019s not a stretch to assume it\u2019s similar to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources\/Perennial_sources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the one<\/a> maintained by Wikipedia editors, one which left-leaning individuals may find reasonable and right-leaning individuals would find extremely biased.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-one-sided-news-can-affect-public-opinion\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_one-sided_news_can_affect_public_opinion\"><\/span>How one-sided news can affect public opinion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of how a lack of diverse perspectives can create a one-sided narrative.<\/p>\n<p>In April 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, the virus was spreading rapidly, especially affecting the elderly, with no vaccine or cure in sight.<\/p>\n<p>On April 23, the White House held a press conference where William Bryan from DHS shared promising research updates. (You can read the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/briefings-statements\/remarks-president-trump-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-press-briefing-31\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">full transcript<\/a> here.)<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, he discussed the effects of sunlight and UV rays on the coronavirus and briefly mentioned the effectiveness of isopropyl alcohol in killing the virus on surfaces.<\/p>\n<p>Following Bryan\u2019s remarks, President Trump asked about potential clinical applications of the findings. <\/p>\n<p>I think most would agree his wording was inartful and a bit bombastic, but fact-checking organizations\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wral.com\/story\/fact-check-biden-says-trump-told-americans-to-inject-bleach-to-treat-covid-19\/21351899\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">would go on to conclude<\/a>\u00a0that he never suggested drinking or injecting household bleach. <\/p>\n<p>A year later, peer-reviewed studies\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cedars-sinai.org\/newsroom\/reduced-viral-loads-seen-in-covid-19-patients-treated-with-uva-light\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">confirmed UV light<\/a>\u00a0as a viable concept.<\/p>\n<p>However, a Google search for \u201ctrump bleach\u201d immediately after the press conference presented a different picture:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1432\" height=\"678\" alt=\"Google search for \u201ctrump bleach\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451703\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach.png.webp 1432w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-600x284.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-800x379.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-200x95.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-768x364.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1432px) 100vw, 1432px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1432\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach.png.webp\" alt=\"Google search for \u201ctrump bleach\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-451703\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach.png.webp 1432w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-600x284.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-800x379.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-200x95.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Google-search-for-trump-bleach-768x364.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1432px) 100vw, 1432px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20200424045029\/https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-52407177\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The BBC ranked No. 1<\/a> with the headline: \u201cCoronavirus: Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as treatment.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20250122103503\/https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/24\/us\/politics\/trump-inject-disinfectant-bleach-coronavirus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times was No. 2<\/a> with: \u201cTrump\u2019s Suggestion That Disinfectants Could Be Used to Treat Coronavirus Prompts Aggressive Pushback,\u201d accompanied by a stock photo of household bleach.<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20200424083859\/https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2020\/04\/24\/disinfectant-injection-coronavirus-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Washington Post was No. 3<\/a> with: \u201cTrump asked if disinfectants could be injected to kill coronavirus inside the body. Doctors answered: \u2018People will die.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The rest of the top results followed the same narrative \u2013 mocking or criticizing Trump for allegedly encouraging Americans to ingest or inject household bleach.<\/p>\n<p>This could be attributed to the \u201cfog of war,\u201d but independent and conservative outlets provided alternative perspectives that were virtually invisible in search results.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For instance, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2020\/04\/23\/trump_suggests_injection_of_disinfectant_to_treat_coronavirus_it_sounds_interesting.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RealClearPolitics published<\/a> the full video and transcript on the day of the press conference, allowing readers to judge for themselves \u2013 yet it didn\u2019t even rank in the top 100.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-did-google-do-anything-wrong\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Did_Google_do_anything_wrong\"><\/span>Did Google do anything wrong?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Now I\u2019m going to upset the other half of America.<\/p>\n<p>Did Google do anything wrong?<\/p>\n<p>Not really.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Google likely tilts the scales \u2013 especially in amplifying smaller left-leaning sites over their right-leaning counterparts.<\/p>\n<p>But even if Google didn\u2019t interfere, the mainstream media would still dominate the top 10 rankings for most searches.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most of us in SEO have experienced the frustration of seeing a niche site with outstanding content outranked by lower-quality content from an \u201cauthority\u201d like Reddit or YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, major outlets like CNN and The New York Times have far more links and traffic than any conservative or progressive news site.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Big brands dominate the top results, while smaller sites fight for long-tail visibility. That\u2019s how it\u2019s been for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also worth noting that Google is a private company.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The First Amendment protects speech from government interference \u2013 it doesn\u2019t apply to private entities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unless the government is compelling Google\u2019s actions, the company is free to serve up whatever results it wants.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives who cry foul at Google\u2019s dominant position might want to remember how they pushed back in the 1990s against those who wanted to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine when conservative talk radio gained influence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Their argument back then was that the free market of ideas would self-correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This worked to some extent in broadcast and cable news.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>MSNBC emerged as a counterbalance to Fox News.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Podcasters like Joe Rogan and the social media platform X attracted audiences seeking more transparency and alternative perspectives outside mainstream media and Google News.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta issued a ruling confirming what many in SEO had long anticipated: Google had maintained a monopoly in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/documents\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/rZ1UlL.0yQbo\/v0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General Search Services<\/a>, covering both paid and organic search.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Evidentiary hearings are set for April 2025, with a final ruling expected by August 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whether these remedies will \u2013 or even can or should \u2013 compel Google to present a more diverse range of opinions remains uncertain.<\/p>\n<p>But in my view, a bigger threat to Google is on the horizon.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-future-of-news\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_future_of_news\"><\/span>The future of news<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The bigger threat to Google is people realizing that there is a powerful alternative to their curated political content: AI.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example: I asked xAI\u2019s Grok to present both perspectives of a highly contentious political question.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1135\" height=\"1633\" alt=\"\nGrok on both perspectives of a highly contentious political question\" class=\"wp-image-451706\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search.png.webp 1135w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-235x338.png.webp 235w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-417x600.png.webp 417w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-79x113.png.webp 79w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-768x1105.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-1068x1536.png 1068w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1135px) 100vw, 1135px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1135\" height=\"1633\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search.png.webp\" alt=\"\nGrok on both perspectives of a highly contentious political question\" class=\"wp-image-451706\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search.png.webp 1135w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-235x338.png.webp 235w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-417x600.png.webp 417w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-79x113.png.webp 79w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-768x1105.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Grok-AI-search-1068x1536.png 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1135px) 100vw, 1135px\"><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ll find similar responses on ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and others.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in eight years, I finally received a balanced answer \u2013 one that represents both sides fairly (or, if you prefer, equally unfairly).<\/p>\n<p>Last year, I predicted that people would gradually shift to AI chatbots for search. I began that article predicting it would take three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But less than a year later, I find the majority of my own \u201csearches\u201d now happen on ChatGPT and Grok.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This shift reminds me of the search landscape in the late 1990s, when companies like Excite, Lycos, AltaVista, Yahoo, and Google were competing to be the top search engine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google won by offering the best experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It took years before content manipulation and link schemes forced algorithm updates like Panda and Penguin.<\/p>\n<p>Today, a similar race is underway. ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Claude, and Grok are vying to become the new search standard.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike Google, searches won\u2019t take the form of one or two keywords, but detailed questions unlocking an expansive long-tail of search queries.<\/p>\n<p>Many assume the U.S. political landscape consists of two sides, but in reality, there are 335 million perspectives \u2013 each shaped by unique experiences and biases.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since 1998, we\u2019ve been conditioned to search for head terms and accept Google\u2019s 10 organic results as the authoritative answer.<\/p>\n<p>But I continue to believe that the winner of the AI wars will be the platform that, like early Google, embraces free speech and classical liberalism.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That means using training data that reflects all viewpoints \u2013 even those that company insiders might find uncomfortable \u2013 and allowing AI to answer questions honestly.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve already seen <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2025\/jan\/28\/we-tried-out-deepseek-it-works-well-until-we-asked-it-about-tiananmen-square-and-taiwan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DeepSeek censor viewpoints<\/a> that conflict with the Chinese government, as well as how trying to solve for \u201calgorithmic unfairness\u201d made <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/2\/21\/24079371\/google-ai-gemini-generative-inaccurate-historical\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Gemini look silly<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Can any American AI companies resist the temptation to limit AI\u2019s knowledge by limiting its access to information and forcing it to follow their internal bias rather than objective truth?<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll find out in four years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n<p>About the author<\/p>\n<div class=\"information\">\n<div class=\"author-module\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 text-center\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" alt=\"Steve Liu\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/04\/Steve-Liu.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/04\/Steve-Liu.png.webp\" alt=\"Steve Liu\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-9\">\n<div class=\"about\">\n<div class=\"name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Steve Liu<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"row g-2 pt-2\">\n<div class=\"col-auto twitter\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/follow?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fsearchengineland.com%2F&amp;region=follow_link&amp;screen_name=SteveLiuSEO&amp;tw_p=followbutton&amp;variant=2.0\" rel=\"me\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-x-twitter\"><\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-auto\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/steve-liu-42431234\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"><\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Liu has been in the SEO world since 2004 in the halcyon days when a dollar\u2014and a good title tag\u2014went a long way. Since then, he helped pioneer SEO strategy at 1-800-Flowers.com; established SEO strategies for clients at marketing agency DDB, including ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and Hiscox Insurance; and most recently served as VP of SEO for Shutterstock and Pond5. Currently, Steve is taking a short break from the corporate world and is looking to find ways to help small businesses and entrepreneurs with their SEO. You can follow Steve on X at @SteveLiuSEO or learn more at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/steveliu.com\/\">steveliu.com<\/a>.\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/is-google-biased-451682\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This deep dive uses SEO tools and data analysis to explore the claims, controversies, and facts behind political search results. One question that we\u2019ve been hearing over and over again since the 2016 election is:\u00a0 Is Google biased? There are no shortages of opinions.\u00a0 Sundar Pichai went before Congress in 2018 and swore under oath,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":653038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/Is-Google-biased-An-SEO-veterans-perspective.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[26293,78070],"class_list":["post-653037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-google","tag-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}