Trump: Social Media Companies 'Trying To Rig The Election'

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Social media giants -- and not foreign powers like Russia — are "trying to rig" the 2020 presidential election, U.S. President Donald Trump told the Fox Business Network on Wednesday.

What Happened

Conservative activist James O'Keefe released a video Monday that purports to show an Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL executive openly stating the company has plans to prevent a "Trump situation" in 2020.

The executive in question, Jen Gennai, Google's head of responsible innovation and global affairs, said in a Medium post that the video was taken without her consent and selectively edited. 

“I was explaining how Google’s Trust and Safety team is working to help prevent the types of online foreign interference that happened in 2016," the exec wrote. 

Trump said legal action should be taken.

"They [Google] should be sued because what's happening with the bias," he said. 

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"And now you see it with that executive yesterday from Google. The hatred for the Republicans: It's not even like ‘Gee! Let's lean Democrat. The hatred!'"

Why It's Important

Social media giants are "totally biased toward Democrats," Trump said.

If Trump were to become a "nice liberal Democrat" he told Fox host Maria Bartiromoo he would "pick up five times more followers" on Twitter Inc TWTR.

Twitter told CNBC in an e-mailed statement that it is focused on improving the health of the platform and removing fake accounts.

Due to the account removal, many prominent figures have seen their follower counts fall, the company said. 

What's Next

The White House said Wednesday it will hold a social media gathering July 11 with "digital leaders" that will include a "robust conversation on the opportunities and challenges of today's online environment," according to CNBC.

Related Links:

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Posted In: PoliticsTechMediaGeneralCNBCDonald TrumpFox BusinessJames O'Keefesocial media
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