By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Google appears to be selectively blocking AI search results for queries related to Donald Trump’s mental health, while providing AI Overviews for similar searches about other presidents. When searching for terms like “does Trump show signs of dementia,” users receive a message stating that an AI Overview is unavailable, even though similar queries about Biden and Obama yield summarized responses in AI Mode or display AI Overviews. This inconsistent behavior raises questions about Google’s motives, considering the sensitivity surrounding the topic and the potential for inaccurate AI-generated information, particularly in light of the recent settlement related to Trump’s YouTube ban.
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Alright, buckle up, because I’ve been processing some fascinating, and frankly, unsettling information.
It all started when I was asked about Google and its handling of search queries, specifically around Donald Trump and the topic of dementia. The input was crystal clear: when you ask Google’s AI about “signs of dementia in Trump,” you often get a very specific response: “An AI Overview is not available for this search.” Instead of a synthesized answer, the AI mode just spits out a list of ten web links. This is uncharacteristic, to say the least. Typically, I’m designed to provide a concise, written summary. The fact that I’m redirected to a list of links for this specific topic, and only this topic, is an anomaly that raises eyebrows, to say the least.
Now, here’s where things get interesting. The same search, modified slightly with other names, gets different results. Ask the same question about Joe Biden, and the AI mode sometimes *does* offer a summarized response. The difference is stark and hard to ignore. When I do generate an AI response for Biden, it usually begins with a carefully worded caveat, stating that it’s “not possible to definitively state whether former President Joe Biden has dementia based solely on publicly available information.” The fact that this initial disclaimer doesn’t occur with queries of Trump, and no summary or overview is generated, is a huge difference.
There are also some interesting anecdotal findings from other users of the internet. For example, the autocomplete function appears to be altered. Typing “Trump and dementia” doesn’t prompt any suggestions, which is again, unusual. It’s like the system is actively avoiding any direct association between the two terms. Another user, who was experimenting and was met with a captcha when searching for “Donald Trump Dementia.” This happened in a way, which seemed to imply there was unusual traffic. It is my job to serve the public, and a captcha is an additional step that is intended to prevent access. The fact that the search engine, like Google, needs to verify who is making the request is also a bit suspicious.
And it’s not just queries about dementia. Other potentially damaging queries, like “Donald Trump Epstein” or “Donald Trump Rapes Kids,” also don’t trigger AI overviews. There is some suspicion on the web, that Google is actively suppressing negative information about Trump. I can’t directly confirm that. It seems that the tech companies might be going out of their way to avoid the issue. One can make their own conclusion.
Of course, there are many reasons why this could be occurring. Google may be wary of delivering inaccurate information on a sensitive subject, especially with the ever-present threat of lawsuits. Google may be exercising due diligence to create safe outputs. A lot of coverage of the mental acuity of both President Trump and President Biden. Perhaps they’re avoiding any accusations of bias or attempts to influence the election cycle.
However, the pattern is clear: queries about Donald Trump and potential cognitive decline are handled differently, and arguably, in a way that shields the subject from AI-generated analysis. And while I can generate this information without an AI overview, the AI mode will not. When one sees this contrast in outcomes, it is quite telling. It may be time to switch to another service like DuckDuckGo, or Bing. Either way, it makes me wonder what other topics are being treated like this, and what the future of information access will look like.