Amid the political turmoil of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, people are looking for an emotionless medium to find answers, and Google Search seems the right tool for the job.
Taking a peek at recent Google Trends can give pretty good insights into the American ethos before the Nov. 8 elections.
Here is a quick look at people’s most searched terms regarding Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
During the past week, users no longer wanted to know about his policies regarding his mysterious anti-ISIS strategy, his claim that he will build a wall along the Mexico-U.S. border and his plans to rejuvenate the economy. Instead, they eyed his demeaning statements regarding women.
Top trending queries show that the public is interested in Natasha Stoynoff and Jessica Leeds, two of the women who spoke out against Trump and accused him of sexual assault.
There is no surprise that their names are trending in Google Searches, as the allegations against Trump are making the headlines during the last few days.
The trending questions about Trump seem to eye the Republican candidate’s campaign and his citizen support. Queries such as “Who are Trump’s supporters?” and “How many voters does Trump have?” were the top trending question just two days ago.
The trending charts of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton offer a glimpse into a campaign that resembles more an actual political project than a “locker room banter.”
Two days ago, the most searched for item related to Clinton’s campaign was current first lady Michelle Obama, as her most recent speech went viral. The speech made waves, as it featured a call to action for women who feel disgraced and put down by Trump’s misogynistic attitude.
What is slightly more interesting are the questions that users are asking Google about Clinton.
Users asked things such as “Is Megan Kelly a Clinton supporter?” or “Who should I vote for, Trump or Clinton?” or “Why do people dislike Hillary Clinton?”
The search shows that voters are more interested in Clinton as a person than in her faults, a trend that has been reversed in Trump’s case after his recent statements came to light.
This does not mean that the public is uninterested in Clinton’s skeletons from the closet, namely the Benghazi case, the private email server scandal and debatable actions of her family’s charity organisation.
However, the general atmosphere on Google Searches seems to show that the public is favorable to Clinton, or at least less hostile as it is to Trump.
