Google CEO Sundar Pichai was summoned to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee on December 11, 2018. This hearing spanned many topics, including Google’s alleged bias against conservative content. In response to one such question about manipulation of search results, Sundar said, “We don’t manually intervene on any particular search result.”

Sundar Pichai did not tell the truth when he made this statement.

“Just Go Talk to the Engineers”

In the introductory chapter of How Google Works, “Introduction — Lessons Learned from the Front Row,” the very first lesson reads, “Just go talk to the engineers.” Few quotes embody the ethos of Google as much as this one. Google’s ethos eschewed traditional business plans and traditional corporate hierarchies in favor of a structure that granted more freedom and autonomy to its engineers, engineers who were not just technically gifted, but who also displayed intelligence and creativity in other domains.

Back then, the tech industry was treated as one of the prize jewels of the American economy, and it enjoyed unwavering support from both political parties. However, by the time Sundar testified in front of Congress, those golden days were long gone. On top of that, Google’s problems have only intensified since that visit to Capitol Hill. Stories from multiple sources have since alleged manipulation of search results, manual blacklisting of sites, and even election interference. These stories have called into the question the sacred reputation of Google’s search results.

In light of all these events, journalists, members of Congress, and American citizens are all trying to figure out what is true, and what exactly is going on inside the company. At a time like this, it’s time to go back to that very first lesson: it’s time to go talk to the engineers.

I happen to be an engineer who used to work for Google, and I have come here to explain the truth behind many of these stories, including the story of the three most consequential words I may have ever written at Google: “the smoking gun.” The account I will give will corroborate several of these stories from the perspective of an engineer who has firsthand knowledge of the blacklists and documents that I will discuss.

A Tale of Two Questions

This story begins with a tale of two questions: one that occurred during the aforementioned Congressional hearing, and another one that took place a few days later outside of the Congressional spotlight.

During that hearing, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) asked Sundar Pichai a question about some less than flattering search results for Donald Trump.

Now, manipulation of search results. I think it’s important to talk about how search works. Right now, if you Google the word “idiot” under images, a picture of Donald Trump comes up. I just did that. How would that happen? How does search work so that that would occur?

Sundar then went on to explain how search works, referencing the 200 algorithmic signals that Google uses to objectively rank search results: “things like relevance, freshness, popularity, how other people are using it.” In other words, his answer was that an objective, automated process produced that image of Donald Trump as a result for the word “idiot.” Rep. Lofgren then asked a follow-up question to confirm this point.

So it’s not some little man sitting behind the curtain figuring out what we’re going to show the user? It’s basically a compilation of what users are generating and trying to sort through that information.

Sundar again confirmed the algorithm was deciding what to show the user, adding, “We don’t manually intervene on any particular search result.” Based on that response, Rep. Lofgren threw cold water on allegations of conservative bias and manipulation of search results: