Dead voters and stuffed ballot boxes may have swung previous elections, but the difference between a president Trump, Sanders, Cruz or Clinton may actually be down to internet puppet masters, Google.

With its deep pockets, technical nous and 1.2 trillion searches every year, an expert in behavioral science believes Google could easily use their digital influence to effectively rig the presidential election.

The ‘Don’t Be Evil’ search engine, now controlled by umbrella company Alphabet, was valued at a high of $533.4 billion earlier this year, CNN reported.

According to Dr Robert Epstein, from the American Institute for Behavioral Research & Technology, the rise of Google and its search algorithm holds the key to the popular vote.

“All the company has to do is to make one candidate look better than another in higher search rankings,” Epstein explained to RT’s Going Underground.

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Last year, the researcher published the results of five experiments which found the mere ordering of search rankings could “easily shift voting preferences by 40 or 50 percent or even higher”.

The peer reviewed experiment used data from elections in India, the United States and Australia which indicated “biased search rankings” drastically changes the way people vote.

The study also stated that the ranking algorithms of search engines can be “masked so that people show no awareness of the manipulation”.

One major issue appears to be the lack of alternative search engines.

“One problem is the lack of competition. In most countries in Europe, Google controls 90 per cent of search. So that’s one problem. Another problem is the high degree of trust - because we assume objectivity," he said.

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“We are trained liked rats in a skinner box to believe on a day by day basis that what is higher on the list is better, that what is higher is truer,” Epstein added.

Referencing a little-known start-up company The Groundwork, reported to be financed by billionaire Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt, Epstein claimed Google is already involved in a stealthy plan to get Democrat Hillary Clinton into the White House.

“She [Clinton] pretty much has the nomination locked up and Google support for Clinton is very strong.

“Google, among other things, set up a semi-secretive organisation called The Groundwork - all high tech experts - that exist for one person only. The Groundwork exist to put Hillary Clinton in office.”

The Groundwork website contains only an Illuminati-like symbol against a grey backdrop. US company Timshel claims to collaborate with The Groundwork, describing it as a “platform for activating community” which “empowers mission-drive organizations” to build awareness, support, and funding.