
Free Elections soon to be a ‘Blip in History’
Why do we as Australians concern ourselves with American politics? Well, they tend to export many ideas to us. The good, the bad and the ugly.
In this case, we should be asking ourselves how Google could affect our next federal election in 2022, and perhaps our upcoming state elections if they choose.
How much damage could Google, Facebook & Twitter do by swinging 2-8% of our voters, as they did with the American election?
2-8% of voters may sound small but that equates to 300,000 – 1.2 million votes which could turn that sweeping win from Scott Morrison in 2019 into a career ending, crushing defeat if well strategized.
There is a glimmer of hope though. Some of the strategies that Dr. Epstein warns of are more effective in the USA due to their non-compulsory approach to voting. Australia’s compulsory take on voting actually neutralises some methods of manipulation, such as the reminder messages to certain voters but not others.
However, Australia’s system doesn’t counter most techniques relating to the pipeline of information, especially with search engines and censorship, which are psychologically impactful.
Monday saw Donald Trump threaten to ban TikTok from the USA unless it’s sold to an American company by next month, due to long-standing privacy concerns.
I have to admit that I’ve been rather perplexed by the focus on TikTok, considering that companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter have been violating and selling people’s private data for some time now.
In fact, in the case of Google they have been overtly manipulating its search engine and algorithms to swing votes against then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016 and against Republican Candidates in the 2018 mid-term congressional elections.
Why would Google do that? Well, you might like to know that the parent company of Google, ‘Alphabet Inc.’, was the top financial donor of the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016.
Enter Dr. Robert Epstein. In July of 2019, Dr. Epstein testified before congress on the dangers of ‘Big Tech’ manipulating anywhere from 2.6 – 10.4 million votes from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential Election.
Dr. Epstein is the senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioural Research and Technology.
Some of the search techniques he warns of from Google, Facebook & Twitter include the “search engine manipulation effect, the search suggestion effect, the answer bot effect and a number of others”.
“In 2020, if all these companies are supporting the same candidate, there are 15 million votes on the line that can be shifted without people’s knowledge, and without leaving a paper trail for authorities to trace.”
Just to put this into perspective for you, in 2016 Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million votes, however she lost the electoral college by 80,000 votes in Rust Belt states secured by Donald Trump like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
___
Originally published at The Spectator Australia.
Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash.
Recent Articles:
1 October 2025
2.4 MINS
The eSafety Commissioner has refused an FOI request by The Daily Declaration after identifying 2,600 records relating to our ministry, revealing the breadth of government tracking of Christian groups online.
1 October 2025
3 MINS
Emma Watson’s recent comments on the importance of loving people despite differences reveal a fundamental truth about disagreeing well and how to practise free speech with character. Here are my thoughts.
1 October 2025
2.3 MINS
New South Wales legislative Libertarian John Ruddick wants to end sex selective abortions in the state. Ruddick’s Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Sex Selection Prohibition) Bill was motioned on 7 August and is scheduled to be presented in full on 22 October.
1 October 2025
3.3 MINS
Canon Press has submitted a $10 million offer to acquire Christianity Today, raising hopes among evangelicals that the magazine could return to Billy Graham’s founding vision after years of cultural compromise.
1 October 2025
1.6 MINS
On 11 September 2025, the Hohhot Intermediate People’s Court in Inner Mongolia (a region in northern China along the Mongolian border) delivered a stark message: even distributing legally authorised Bibles can be a crime if done outside government-approved channels.
1 October 2025
4 MINS
God’s priority is his Church. The Church is his Son’s bride, and not only that, but the hope of the world. That is why we are praying and fasting for the Church in October.
30 September 2025
9.6 MINS
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from my book called Break Through: 15 Keys to Supernatural Breakthrough, available at the Canberra Declaration bookshop. We are publishing this chapter as an article to encourage people to use this God-given tool for spiritual breakthrough. Bill Bright, the [...]