The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 19, 2019 in a tweet: \"Wow, Report Just Out! Google manipulated from 2.6 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election!\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * National * Elections * Technology * Donald Trump ![\\"John](\\" By John Kruzel August 19, 2019 # Donald Trump wrong on Google manipulating election results In his latest effort to recast his election win as an even bigger victory than the ballot box showed, President Donald Trump tweeted out an eye-popping — but unsubstantiated — claim. \"Wow, Report Just Out! Google manipulated from 2.6 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election!\" Trump tweeted. \"This was put out by a Clinton supporter, not a Trump Supporter! Google should be sued. My victory was even bigger than thought!\" Trump’s claim appears to trace back to a research paper published online in June 2017. He may have become aware of the paper after the right-wing website Town Hall ran an article that heavily cited it. The Washington Post reported that the same research paper was mentioned in a segment on Fox Business Network. The paper, by psychologist Robert Epstein, seeks to build off earlier research Epstein did on how bias in search engine results can affect voting preferences. (For the record, Epstein’s estimate was that between 2.6 million and 10.4 million votes may have been manipulated in 2016 — not up to 16 million votes, as Trump said.) But a number of experts we reached out to said the latest paper’s methodology is freighted with too many flaws and unexplained assumptions to assert the kind of claim Trump makes here. A questionable approach We reached out to Epstein to ask if he took issue with how Trump characterized his findings. \"I sure do,\" said Epstein, who supported Clinton in 2016. \"I have never said that Google deliberately manipulated the 2016 election.\" When we asked what formula and assumptions Epstein used to reach his bottom- line conclusion, we did not hear back. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Experts cited several major flaws in Epstein’s paper. First, here’s the study’s basic setup: In the run-up to the 2016 election, researchers recruited 95 people, 21 of whom identified as \"undecided.\" Over a 25-day period — from Oct. 15 through Election Day, Nov. 8 — researchers analyzed between 50 and 483 of these subjects\' daily web searches. Those search results were then farmed out to a crowdsourcing website, where raters voted on whether they found search results biased or not. Their key finding: that \"election-related search terms were, on average, biased in Mrs. Clinton’s favor.\" Experts we spoke to cited a slew of problems with this methodology. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 2, 2024 in una publicación en Instagram \"Kamala Harris aboga por censurar X en Estados Unidos al estilo de Brasil si es elegida presidenta en noviembre”. ![\\"true\\"](\\" rulings/tom_ruling_falso/7afe5367c2d46afca69ca3f17ae24296.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" rulings/tom_ruling_falso.png\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 6, 2024 One common complaint was a lack of definitions. \"They can\'t even define what biased search results are — they simply piped them off to a crowd-sourcing site and asked random people, ‘Is this search results page biased or not?’ \" said Ryan Singel, a media and strategy fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society. \"What does that even mean?\" The researchers also discarded search results from users who operated Gmail accounts, after finding these users’ searches yielded less biased results. To the researchers, this raised concerns that \"perhaps Google identified our confidants through its gmail system and targeted them to receive unbiased results.\" But others doubted that explanation. \"They eliminated anyone using a Gmail address because their search results weren\'t considered ‘biased,’ speculating that Google was intentionally poisoning their research,\" Singel said. \"That\'s both equally laughable and sad.\" Setting aside the methodological flaws, others took exception to the researchers assumption about how well an experiment of this kind would translate to the voting booth. To some, the holes in the definitions and unexplained formulas used to extrapolate created more questions than answers. We reached out to Nicholas Diakopoulos, a professor in communication studies and computer science at Northwestern University, to ask how researchers could get from 25 days’ worth of search results from 95 subjects to millions of manipulated votes. \"There\'s not enough information in the whitepaper about how the estimate was done,\" Diakopoulos said. He said the researchers likely developed a mathematical formula that seeks to translate examples of bias they collected into estimates of voter impact. \"But again there is not enough information in the whitepaper to say definitively how their ‘computational model’ works,\" he said, \"and whether it is a valid estimate based on the assumptions built into the model.\" Google refuted Trump’s statement, noting it was an old claim. \"This researcher\'s inaccurate claim has been debunked since it was made in 2016,\" a Google spokesman said in a statement. \"As we stated then, we have never re-ranked or altered search results to manipulate political sentiment.\" Our ruling Trump said a new report shows \"Google manipulated from 2.6 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election.\" The general idea here is that Google gave people search results that in some way affected their vote in the lead-up to the election for president. Whether such indirect interactions could cause people to change their votes is questionable, and the paper — which is not new — does nothing to establish how that might happen. The paper doesn’t explain its methodology, and other academics questioned whether its findings were valid. Finally, Trump seems to have exaggerated the outer bound of the questionable findings. Overall, we rate his statement False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Tweet by President Donald Trump, Aug. 19, 2019 Email interview with Google spokesperson, Aug. 19, 2019 Email interview with Robert Epstein, psychologist, Aug. 19, 2019 Email interview with Nicholas Diakopoulos, a professor in communication studies and computer science at Northwestern University, Aug. 19, 2019 Email interview with Gigi Sohn, a fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a former counselor to the FCC chairman, Aug. 19, 2019 Email interview with Ryan Singel, a media and strategy fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, Aug. 19, 2019 Email interview with Panagiotis Metaxas, a professor of computer science at Wellesley College, Aug. 19, 2019 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by John Kruzel ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 25, 2019 in a phone call: \"A lot of people are talking about\" the removal of a \"very fair prosecutor\" in Ukraine. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By John Kruzel • September 26, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on September 6, 2019 in a Facebook post: Says several well-known charities such as Goodwill and American Red Cross overpay their CEOs and spend a small percentage on helping people. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • September 17, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 12, 2019 in a speech: The United States is \"very energy independent.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By John Kruzel • September 13, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Sheldon Whitehouse stated on September 6, 2019 in an op-ed: \"One unnamed donor gave $17 million to the Leo-affiliated Judicial Crisis Network to block the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland and to support Gorsuch; then a donor — perhaps the same one — gave another $17 million to prop up Kavanaugh.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By John Kruzel • September 11, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Andrew Yang stated on September 4, 2019 in a town hall: The Green New Deal \"would do away with commercial air travel.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By John Kruzel • September 6, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" John Delaney stated on August 27, 2019 in an interview: The Amazon rainforest fires are \"directly related to trade\" tensions between the United States and China. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By John Kruzel • September 6, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bernie Sanders stated on August 26, 2019 in an Instagram post: \"Last year, South Carolina spent $21,756 per prison inmate and $11,552 per student.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By John Kruzel • August 27, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ken Cuccinelli stated on August 22, 2019 in a panel discussion: A federal pilot program to DNA test illegal immigrants showed \"something like 30% (of test subjects) are fake families.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By John Kruzel • August 26, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 19, 2019 in a tweet: \"Wow, Report Just Out! Google manipulated from 2.6 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election!\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By John Kruzel • August 19, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 1, 2019 in a rally: \"The homicide rate in Baltimore is significantly higher than El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala. ... I believe it’s higher than Afghanistan.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By John Kruzel • August 2, 2019 ![](\\" CPAC_2/f54f1329272f267379fffcff90466749.JPG\\") ![](\\" CPAC_2/6136851197fac48e57d24a159cda9ff2.JPG\\") Ben Carson stated on July 31, 2019 in a press conference: \"You look at the homelessness situation. Take a city like Tokyo, which has more people than New York City. There\'s no homelessness there.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By John Kruzel • August 1, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on May 14, 2019 in a campaign event: The 1994 crime bill \"did not generate mass incarceration.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • May 30, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Anthony Scaramucci stated on May 11, 2019 in an interview: China’s developing country status in the World Trade Organization \"means they can tariff and embargo.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By John Kruzel • May 15, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on May 1, 2019 in a stump speech: \"I’m one of the first guys to introduce a climate change bill, way, way back in ’87.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By John Kruzel • May 8, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on May 1, 2019 in an interview: \"I was always labeled as one of the most liberal members of the United States Congress.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By John Kruzel • May 6, 2019 ### Donald Trump wrong on Google manipulating election results * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 20, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Bill Gates dijo que \"estamos tomando cosas que son ya sabes organismos genéticamente modificados y los estamos inyectando en los brazos de niños pequeños\" en el contexto de las vacunas. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 26, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 20, 2024 in a Threads post: “Oprah is a sex trafficker. She’s been caught and now has to be escorted around” by U.S. marshals ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 23, 2024 in a Threads post: Says John Fetterman said he’s “voting for Trump.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 22, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Taylor Swift’s concert attendance drops after Harris endorsement: ‘No Fans, just empty seats and echoes.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 10, 2024 in an op-ed: Jon Tester “supported slashing Social Security benefits” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 22, 2024 in a Threads post: Florida \"put Tom Walz instead of Tim Walz\" on its ballots. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on September 21, 2024 in in Bethlehem, Pa.: “Donald Trump added more to the national debt than any other president, ever.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Senate Leadership Fund stated on September 17, 2024 in a TV ad: “Two years ago, Bob Casey promised us his vote will reduce inflation. ... Casey’s vote for reckless spending” made inflation worse. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 23, 2024 in an Instagram post: Video shows Vice President Kamala Harris “hammered.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 24, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 23, 2024 in a Threads post: Travis Kelce endorsed Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 24, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up #### Offices District of Columbia 1800 I Street NW Washington, DC 20006 Florida 801 3rd St. S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-9494 #### People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis #### State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin #### About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters #### RSS Feeds * Recent Articles and Fact-checks * Recent Fact-checks Suggest a Fact-check #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Copyright ©All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ![\\"\\"](\\" ✕ * * *
Wow Report Just Out Google manipulated from 26 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election