Donald Trump has accused Google of manipulating the 2016 US election in favour of his democratic rival Hillary Clinton, citing a conservative judicial activist site that frequently makes false accusations and spreads conspiracies against liberals.

"Wow, Report Just Out! Google manipulated from 2.6 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election!" Mr Trump tweeted. "This was put out by a Clinton supporter, not a Trump Supporter! Google should be sued. My victory was even bigger than thought!"

Since his 2016 electoral victory, Mr Trump has frequently claimed — falsely — that millions of votes were illegally cast during that contest. This latest accusation does not cite a specific study, and instead tagged the group Judicial Watch, a conservative activist group that targets Democrats through frequent lawsuits, and has made false or unsubstantiated claims in the past that have been picked up by conservative or right-wing news outlets.

Mr Trump was able to win the presidency by garnering a majority of the country's Electoral College votes, but lost the popular vote to Ms Clinton by nearly three million votes across the country.

The integrity of the 2016 election has been a hot topic for years, however most observers of the election have pointed towards outside influence from Russia as the biggest source of an attack on the election. Russia, during that election, sought to boost Mr Trump's candidacy, according to the investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller's team.

Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Show all 15 1 /15 Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct New York, US Google employees hold signs outside 14th street park after walking out as part of a global protest over claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and systemic racism at the tech giant Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Dublin, Ireland Google employees at its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, join others from around the world PA Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct London, Britain Google staff stage a walkout at the company's UK headquarters in London AFP/Getty Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct New York, US A workers holds a sign outside 14th street park after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues in New York, U.S., November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon JEENAH MOON Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Zurich, Switzerland People gather next to the Google office to attend the Google Walkout in Zurich Googlewalkout/Tedonprivacy/Twitter/Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct New York, US Google employees stage a walkout on November 1, 2018, in New York, over sexual harassment. - A Google Walkout For Real Change account that sprang up on Twitter on October 31 called for employees and contractors to leave their workplaces at 11:10am local time around the world on Thursday. Tension has been growing over how the US-based tech giant handles sexual harassment claims. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP)BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images BRYAN R. SMITH AFP/Getty Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Dublin, Ireland Google employees at its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, join others from around the world walking out of their offices in protest over claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and systemic racism at the tech giant. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday November 1, 2018. See PA story TECHNOLOGY Google. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct New York, US Google employees stage a walkout on November 1, 2018, in New York, over sexual harassment. - A Google Walkout For Real Change account that sprang up on Twitter on October 31 called for employees and contractors to leave their workplaces at 11:10am local time around the world on Thursday. Tension has been growing over how the US-based tech giant handles sexual harassment claims. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP)BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images BRYAN R. SMITH Getty Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Dublin, Ireland Workers stand outside Google's European headquarters after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues, in Dublin, Ireland, November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne CLODAGH KILCOYNE Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct New York, US A worker holds a sign outside the Google offices after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues, in New York, U.S., November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon JEENAH MOON Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Dublin, Ireland Workers stand outside the Google offices after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues in Dublin, Ireland, November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne CLODAGH KILCOYNE Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct New York, US Workers stand outside 14th street park after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues in New York, U.S., November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon JEENAH MOON Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct Dublin, Ireland A man wearing a Google slogan T-shirt hands out doughnuts to workers standing outside Google's European headquarters Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct New York, US Workers leave outside 14th street park after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues in New York, U.S., November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon JEENAH MOON Reuters Google staff stage walkout over handling of sexual misconduct London, Britain Google staff stage a walkout at the company's UK headquarters in London AFP/Getty

But, when it comes to fraudulent voting, numerous groups including prominent Republicans have refuted the idea.

That includes New York University's Brennan Centre for Justice, which says in its website: "President Donald Trump has repeatedly, and falsely, claimed millions voted illegally. Yet examination after examination of voter fraud claims reveal fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is nearly non-existent, and much of the problems associated with alleged fraud relates to unintentional mistakes by voters or election administrators."

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When reached for comment, a Google spokesperson took issue with the claim Mr Trump cited, and claimed the search engine giant has not manipulated search results in the past.