Google is plugging Trump's State of the Union, further debunking one the president's wild theories

Reuters

US President Donald Trump.

• Google is promoting Donald Trump's State of the Union on its US homepage.
• The US president claimed last year that the search firm plugged President Barack Obama's State of the Union speeches, but ignored his own.
• The claim was widely debunked, and Google's message today further undermines Trump's theory.
• Perhaps the only slight irony is that Trump's State of the Union plug appears under a doodle celebrating the Chinese New Year.

Google is studiously promoting Donald Trump's State of the Union address later today.

Why is that important? Well, the US president accused Google of doing precisely the opposite in a series of attacks on the search giant last year.

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Trump poured gas on unfounded claims that Google harbors liberal bias in August 2018, when he tweeted an explosive video with the hashtag "#StopTheBias."

The footage claimed to show that Google had promoted President Barack Obama's State of the Union speeches but ignored Trump's addresses to Congress for the past two years.

Read more: Google dismantled Trump's latest attack on the search engine

But it was widely debunked at the time - both in a statement from Google and internet archives showing that the search engine did indeed promote live coverage of Trump's State of the Union address last year.

Fast forward nearly six months, and Google is giving the president airtime again.

Under the search bar on its US homepage, Google links to a live YouTube stream of the address, with the words: "Watch President Trump's State of the Union address. Tonight on YouTube at 9p ET."

Google

Perhaps the only slight irony is the State of the Union plug appears under a doodle celebrating the Chinese New Year. This might be an unwelcome sight for Trump supporters backing the president in his ongoing trade war with Xi Jinping's regime.

Google, in particular, has been a lightning rod for Republican anger over Silicon Valley's perceived liberal bias.

Trump has repeatedly targeted the company, saying search results are "RIGGED" against him, as have Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai was questioned about the issue during a Congress hearing in December. "I lead this company without political bias and work to ensure that our products continue to operate that way," Pichai told lawmakers. "To do otherwise would go against our core principles and our business interests."

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