Leaked Google Meeting Video Could Be Problematic

Google employees console each other with group hug

A leaked video of Google executives trying to console employees who were upset after the election of President Trump has infuriated conservatives, who say the remarks illustrate the search giant's political bias and should prompt regulators to take a close look at the company.

Accordin to philly.com, the new controversy stems from a roughly hour-long recording published Wednesday by Breitbart. It shows executives such as Sergey Brin, the president of Google parent Alphabet, and Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google, addressing staff at a private meeting days after the 2016 election, the outcome of which Pichai said caused "a lot of fear within Google."

As they expressed their dismay, Google executives sought to assure employees, especially immigrants, given the incoming president's pledge before Election Day to toughen security at the border. In doing so, Google's leaders encouraged their workers to be understanding of "all sides of the political spectrum," said Eileen Naughton, the company's vice president for people operations.

But conservatives quickly seized on the leaked video Wednesday as evidence that Google is trying to undermine Trump and silence his supporters – and some White House allies even suggested investigating the company as a result.

"They control 91% of all search and they get to decide what everyone sees. If this isn't a Monopoly I don't know what is," tweeted Donald Trump Jr.



Brad Parscale, the president's campaign manager, said the company "needs to explain why this isn't a threat to the Republic," adding in his own tweet: "Congressional hearings! Investigate."

In response, Riva Sciuto, a spokeswoman for Google, defended the search giant's meeting. "For over 20 years, everyone at Google has been able to freely express their opinions at these meetings," she said in a statement. "Nothing was said at that meeting, or any other meeting, to suggest that any political bias ever influences the way we build or operate our products."

Still, the video's publication – on Breitbart, a right-leaning news site once led by Stephen Bannon, the president's former top strategist – could prove problematic for Google in the nation's capital.