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Google<\/a> has responded to Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., and other top GOP figures\u2019 accusations that the search engine is interfering in the election with its autocomplete results.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Sunday evening, several X<\/a> users posted photos<\/a> showing that when they typed \u201cassassination attempt on\u201d into Google\u2019s search engine, the website only showed auto-complete results for assassination attempts on former President Ronald Reagan, Bob Marley, and other figures, omitting the July 14 attempt on former President Donald Trump\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even when Fortune <\/em>typed in \u201cassassination attempt on Trump\u201d on Chrome using incognito mode, no autocomplete showed up on the results. Clicking \u201center\u201d on the result, however, yielded several recent news articles about the incident<\/a> in Butler, Pa.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elon Musk, who owns X, also weighed in, posting<\/a> a photo of him searching for \u201cPresident Donald,\u201d which suggested \u201cPresident Donald Duck\u201d before \u201cPresident Donald Trump.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump,\u201d Musk posted. \u201cElection interference?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cProbably just a coincidence that Alphabet (Google) employees were the top donors to Biden,\u201d he snarked<\/a> in another X post.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fortune<\/em> \u2013 searching in incognito mode on Chrome \u2013 could not replicate Musk\u2019s results: autocomplete did not show any predictions on searches for \u201cPresident Donald\u201d or \u201cPresident Trump.\u201d Autocomplete also did not show any predictions for \u201cPresident Joe\u201d or \u201cPresident Biden.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Several top GOP figures were enraged by the autocomplete results posted on X and immediately accused<\/a> Google of \u201cgaslighting\u201d the American people and trying to influence the 2024 presidential election.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBig Tech is trying to interfere in the election AGAIN to help Kamala Harris,\u201d Trump\u2019s son, Donald Trump<\/a> Jr., wrote on X. \u201cWe all know this is intentional election interference from Google. Truly despicable.\u201d<\/p>\n Google told Fortune<\/em> that the company did not take \u201cmanual action\u201d on the autocomplete predictions, and will be \u201cworking on improvements\u201d to its autocomplete feature.\u00a0<\/p>\n In terms of the assassination attempt queries, Google\u2019s systems have \u201cprotections against Autocomplete predictions associated with political violence, which were working as intended prior to this horrific event occurring,\u201d the spokesperson wrote to Fortune. <\/em>\u201cWe\u2019re working on improvements to ensure our systems are more up to date.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the \u201cDonald Duck\u201d search that Musk highlighted, the spokesperson said that \u201cautocomplete is currently not working as intended\u201d on in response to searches for of the names of past presidents and the current vice president.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking into these anomalies and working on improvements, which we hope to roll out soon,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cOur autocomplete systems are dynamic, so predictions will change based on common and trending queries.\u201d<\/p>\n Barry Schwartz, an expert on online search and the founder of the Search Engine Roundtable<\/a>, a news service about search engines, told Fortune<\/em> that Google\u2019s response \u201cmakes sense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can search wherever you want, and Google will show it to you, but it won\u2019t do an autocomplete \u2018suggestion\u2019 that you do violence towards politicians,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Imagine if the attempt never happened, but typing in \u201cassassination attempt on Tru\u201d in Google suggested \u201cassassination attempt on Trump,\u201d Schwartz said: That would be encouraging violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the attempt did happen, so Google should show autocompletion for that sentence, he added.\u00a0 In all likelihood, \u201cthey just didn\u2019t update their filter,\u201d he said \u2013 nothing more nefarious.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong> The Fortune Next to Lead newsletter is a must-read for the next generation of C-suite leaders. Every Monday, the newsletter provides the strategies, resources, and expert insight needed to claim the most coveted positions in business. Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/div>\n