Google Will Block Its Autocomplete Suggestions For Some Election-Related Searches

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Google says it will no longer allow some autocomplete suggestions related to political candidates and the election, such as search predictions that could be viewed as making claims about the «the integrity or legitimacy of electoral processes.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

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Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Politics
Facebook Clamps Down On Posts, Ads That Could Undermine U.S. Presidential Election

On the same day as Google’s announcement, Twitter said it was introducing restrictions on elected-related posts, including to tweets claiming victory for a candidate ahead of official results or attempts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.

Facebook also recently announced stricter policies around election-related posts as well as on new political ads in the week before Election Day. In that announcement, the company said it would label posts attempting to «delegitimize the outcome of the election and delete claims that voters would get COVID-19.

Facebook and Twitter changed their policies not long after both tech giants announced that they had deleted Russia-linked accounts, which researchers say were trying to steer left-leaning voters away from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris.

The tech giants have also been contending with false, and disproven, information about the COVID-19 pandemic. This included removing a Breitbart News video published to both social media sites and YouTube that featured a group of doctors arguing debunked claims about a controversial treatment for the coronavirus.

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which is owned by Google, all removed the video in July. Twitter also temporarily restricted the account of Donald Trump Jr., who had shared the video.

Editor’s note: Google and Facebook are among NPR’s financial supporters.