
Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ: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."
See Also: Alphabet ‘Well Positioned’ For Google Search Dominance: Analyst Says Can ‘Navigate The Shift To AI Search’
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.
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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. (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and others.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.