Google Search's autocomplete blocks 'Impeach Trump' but allows 'Trump Impeachment' - Here's why

Google’s search autocomplete feature has stirred controversy by blocking suggestions for “impeach Trump” while allowing “Trump impeachment.” This has led to widespread speculation and concern among many users who noticed the discrepancy around the beginning of the month.

The issue came to light when users on various social platforms like X, Reddit, and TikTok began sharing their experiences. Many claimed that typing “impeach T” into Google’s search bar did not suggest “impeach Trump,” despite similar searches for other politicians like Biden or Obama yielding expected results. This raised eyebrows, with some users suggesting it was a form of censorship to favor President Trump, especially after we saw how Big Tech was cozying up to Trump ahead of his inaugural.

However, Google has clarified these actions through an email to Snopes. A spokesperson explained that the company’s autocomplete policies explicitly prohibit predictions that could be seen as taking a political stance. The policy states, “We don’t allow predictions that can be interpreted as: a position for or against any political figure or party, or a claim about the participation in or integrity of the electoral process.” Here’s a screenshot of the same for reference:

Apparently, the phrase “impeach Trump” was viewed as suggesting an action or opinion, whereas “Trump impeachment” was seen as a query for historical information about Trump’s previous impeachments. This distinction explains why one phrase is blocked while the other is permitted. Google confirmed they are actively blocking suggestions that violate these policies, a measure that also applies to other phrases like “impeach Biden” or “impeach Clinton.”

In my testing, autocomplete simply wouldn’t show up anything when searching for “impeach Trump,” “impeach Biden,” and “impeach Obama.” So it’s clear that Google has indeed patched the problem.

Despite the blocked autocomplete, users can still manually search for “impeach Trump” and find numerous relevant results, including petitions, news articles, and discussions about Trump’s impeachment history.

For those unaware, this isn’t even the first time there has been a controversy surrounding Donald Trump and Google Search’s autocomplete feature. In July last year, autocomplete was refusing to suggest Donald Trump’s name. Typing “President Donald” suggested “President Donald Duck” and “President Donald Regan,” instead of Trump. Google basically provided the same explanation as this time around by citing Search policies.

As this situation unfolds, it serves as a reminder of the complex balance search engines must maintain between providing useful, predictive search tools and navigating the minefield of political neutrality.