Save over 40% when you secure your tickets today to TNW Conference 💥 Prices will increase on November 22 →

This article was published on February 1, 2016

Google’s autocomplete is abnormally quiet about the UK’s Conservative party


Google’s autocomplete is abnormally quiet about the UK’s Conservative party

If you’re trying to find out more about politics, you might well start by Googling some of those political party names you hear people mention but have no idea who or what they’re talking about.

In the UK at least, that means researching more about the Conservatives, who are currently in government, the opposition, that’s Labour, the Liberal Democrats, ‘Libdems’ to their mates, plus maybe… the Green Party?

Because you maybe heard there’s enough plastic in the ocean to cling wrap the entire world. Or something.

Anyway. Here it goes…

Labour Google search

Well they don’t sound great.

Libdems Google search

Hm. Not too promising.

Green Party google search

Yikes. But only one result, not four. That’s weird.

Conservatives Google search

Nothing? Surely someone has searched something about the Conservative Party? Autocomplete is also silent if you use the party’s nickname and instead Google ‘Tories are.’

Update: If you type ‘Conservative Party are’ you’ll get similar results to those seen above for the others. But if you don’t, as with the searches we performed for the other parties, there’s still a gaping hole in autocomplete that looks a little odd.

We’ve reached to Google to find out what’s going down with their political search results in the UK. Perhaps they’ve recently hired some jokers to work in the department!

We’ll update when we hear back.

Google google search

Update: A Google spokesperson told TNW: “Autocomplete predictions are produced based on a number of factors including the popularity of search terms. We do remove offensive or inappropriate content from autocomplete predictions.”

It is possible that the Conservatives have been waging a war with the internet themselves, as anyone can request that offensive search terms be removed here.

➤ Google [via The People’s Republic of Brighton and Hove]

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with