Sundar Pichai Says No One At Google Can Change Trump's Search Ranking — Not Even Him
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc., stated that no one at Google, including himself, can manually change search rankings, responding to President Trump's complaints. Pichai emphasized that Google's ranking algorithm is not influenced by individuals. Trump previously accused Google of manipulating search results to interfere in the 2024 presidential election, alleging bias against him. Google has maintained that both campaign websites rank highly for relevant searches. Alphabet has a growth score of 88.63% according to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings.
Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL CEO Sundar Pichai has firmly rejected the notion that anyone at Google can manually alter search rankings, even in response to President Donald Trump's complaints.
What Happened: In a conversation with The Verge's Nilay Patel, Pichai was asked about Trump's criticism of his search rankings and the President's desire for them to be altered.
When asked whether search results for Trump would ever be adjusted in response to his complaints, Pichai said, "No. Look, we have a… I can't… Today, the way Google Search works is that I cannot… No person at Google can influence the ranking algorithm."
Why It's Important: Last year, Trump indicated that Google could face legal consequences, accusing the tech giant of interfering in the 2024 presidential election by manipulating search results.
He alleged that Google deliberately promoted negative coverage about him while giving greater visibility to favorable stories about former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
At the time, Google reaffirmed its previous stance and a company spokesperson said, "Both campaign websites consistently appear at the top of Search for relevant and common search queries."
After Trump won against Harris, Google contributed $1 million to support Trump's inauguration, aligning itself with other major donors such as Meta Platforms, Inc. META, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Ford Motor Company F and others.
Alphabet has earned a growth score of 88.63% according to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings. Click here to compare it with other companies.
Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
Photo Courtesy: JHVEPhoto on Shutterstock.com
- Why Google's Demis Hassabis Disagrees With Co-Founder Sergey Brin On When AGI Will Arrive: ‘I Have Quite A High Bar'
