RESTON, VA – The Free Speech Alliance (FSA), a coalition of more than 40 conservative organizations, released the following statement Wednesday in response to reports that Google “blacklists” conservative news and opinion websites – preventing those websites from appearing in search results.

As reported by the Daily Caller, Google’s Trust and Safety team manually manipulated various search features to exclude a number of conservative websites including the American Spectator, Gateway Pundit, and Conservative Tribune.

The FSA statement is below:

“It comes as no surprise that Google, and the rest of Silicon Valley, is biased against the right. We have seen the reports exposing Google’s leadership as liberal and anti-conservative. “This goes beyond bias. Google is actively censoring conservative opinion from the internet. Google is the world’s most used search engine. It serves as the gatekeeper to all information online. Google’s power to influence public thought cannot be overstated. If the public’s access to differing opinion is limited or outright barred, we will no longer live in a society where open discourse is an option. “When questioned before Congress whether his company manipulated its search results, Google CEO Sundar Pichai unequivocally denied it. We now know that he lied. Google and Pichai not only owe an explanation to Congress, but to the American public. We demand full transparency. This deceptive abuse of power cannot go unchecked. If Google is not held accountable, all of us – liberals and conservatives alike – will lose.”

The Free Speech Alliance (FSA) is a coalition made up of more than 40 conservative organizations, each committed to combating the censorship of conservative voices on the major social media platforms. The FSA is spearheaded by the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog organization which has been identifying and exposing media bias for more than 30 years.