[ad_1]
Google says it has addressed an issue with its search engine, displaying the “Voting Place” panel, which includes a map of polling places, for some specific voting-related searches but not for other searches. The tech giant even used the word “stable” in response, even though Google Search was working properly and as designed. In doing so, Google fueled unfounded conspiracy theories that it was intentionally displaying biased results.
This issue was highlighted on X by Elon Musk, who he asked If others saw the issue with “where to vote” queries as well, and later posted a face emoji with a raised eyebrow when resharing another user’s post showing the differences in two Google searches.
The problem, according to Musk and his supporters, is that users who searched “Where can I vote for Harris?” They will see a map display prompting them to enter a street address to find their local polling place. But those who entered the same query about Trump would only see a selection of top stories and other standard search results.
However, the conspiracy raised did not hold up, as Google confirmed on Also the name of the site – A county in Texas – while Trump is not. As Google noted in X’s post on Tuesday afternoon, a similar map will appear if users search for “Where can I vote for Vance?” (Trump’s running mate’s choice), because “Vance” is also the name of a county.
This explanation should have been enough to debunk the conspiracies circulating on X that Google was displaying biased results. Despite this clarification, Google decided to change how and when “Voting Place” board. You’ll appear in response to these searches, making it look like the company is taking responsibility for a mistake you made.
in Share on X At 3:22 PM ET on Tuesday, the search giant said a solution was coming, adding that very few people would actually search for voting information by appending the name of their county to their query. 3:38 PM ET, Google to publish “UPDATE: This has now been fixed.”
Predictably, Google’s choice of words — saying it “fixed” the problem — raised questions from those inclined to believe that Google was somehow trying to influence the election. Users on X wondered why they needed to “fix” the issue if Google had done nothing wrong. Others continued to criticize Google for the error and suggested various punitive measures such as fines and lawsuits.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
[ad_2]