A leaked video of Google executives bemoaning the results of the 2016 election that brought Donald Trump to power in its first meeting after the vote has caused an uproar from Conservatives.
The incident comes close on the heels of a campaign by Republicans and allies that demonstrates that Google and similar Silicon Valley organisations are biased against conservatives, the New York Times reported.
WHAT THE VIDEO IS ABOUT
An approximately hour-long video, posted first by Breitbart, features Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin telling employees that the outcome of the election was unfavourable to them. Google often holds such 'TGIF' meetings that are then telecast to company offices all over the world, according to NYT.
"There are people who are very afraid ... There is a lot of fear, so I think it's important to reach out and be aware of that fear," Pichai can be heard saying.
Brin said that as an immigrant and refugee, he found the election outcome to be "deeply offensive", and one that conflicted with many of their values.
THE IMPACT
The video has caused dissatisfaction among allies of the White House, who suggested that Google must be investigated.
US President Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. also reacted, calling out Google’s “monopoly.”
The president's campaign manager too tweeted: "Google believes they can shape your search results and videos to make you “have their values”."
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy echoed the sentiment.
In a statement, quoted by The Washington Post, Google clarified that “nothing was said at the meeting to suggest that any political bias ever influences the way we build or operate our products."
On the contrary, the company said that their products were built for everyone.
“Our products are built for everyone, and we design them with extraordinary care to be a trustworthy source of information for everyone, without regard to political viewpoint.”Riva Sciuto, Spokeswoman, Google
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter have come under the radar in recent months over allegations of “stifling Conservative views,” Washington Post said.
In August, Trump accused Google of having “rigged” search results to display negative stories about him. Google reportedly denied the allegations.
(Inputs from New York Times and Washington Post.)
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