Trump accuses Google of suppressing positive news about his presidency
Washington, Aug 28 : US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Alphabet Inc.'s Google search platform of elevating critical news stories about his presidency at the expense of friendly conservative voices, declaring that it is a "very serious situation" that will be addressed.
Trump, in a pair of tweets early morning, said that a search in Google for "Trump News" yielded only "the viewing/reporting of Fake (News) Media".
"In other words, they have it rigged, for me and others, so that almost all stories and news is bad," he wrote.
"Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative and Fair Media is shut out," he wrote. "Google and 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!"
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Efe news reported.
Asked to elaborate later on the administration's views on potential regulation of the search giant, Lawrence Kudlow, the Director of Trump's National Economic Council, said: "We'll let you know, we're taking a look at it."
Republicans have criticized social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter over their treatment of conservatives on their platforms. Last week, the President accused social media platforms of "silencing millions of people".
Earlier in the month, Trump also claimed that tech companies were "totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices", pledging that his administration "won't let that happen".
Accusations that Google tampers with search results are not new or uncommon. Those accusations took on a new life during the 2016 presidential election when some Conservatives claimed that the technology giant was censoring controversial subjects as part of an effort to purge the Internet of fake news reports.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
