House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said Saturday he didn't believe Google's excuse for why "Naziism" showed up on a search to describe the California Republican Party's ideology.
Less than a week before the California primary, a Google search for "California Republican Party" showed "Naziism" as one of its ideologies in the "knowledge panel." The panel shows up to give searchers quick facts for certain people, places and groups. Google took down the listing after Vice, which first reported the news, inquired about it.
"This was disgusting," McCarthy told MSNBC host Hugh Hewitt.
McCarthy said the ideology didn't say "Party of Lincoln" or "Party of Reagan," and he effectively called Google liars for its explanation that the Nazi ideology definition was pulled from Wikipedia.
"They said they pulled it from Wikipedia. The tough part is ... I looked at Wikipedia and it didn't say Naziism on there," he said. "This is a real concern. The bias has to stop."
McCarthy tweeted about the flap on Thursday, writing "This is a disgrace," along with #StopTheBias.
Dear @Google,
This is a disgrace ⬇️ #StopTheBias pic.twitter.com/8EZhtOLcOD— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 31, 2018
McCarthy, who could be the next Speaker of the House if Republicans maintain control of the chamber after the 2018 midterms, called for hearings to address Silicon Valley bias.
"I think individuals need to come in. There need to be transparencies because we have to have a clear understanding," McCarthy said. "If they're controlling the feed of what people are seeing, that is fundamentally wrong."
Aside from his concerns about Silicon Valley, McCarthy has frequently warned about anti-conservative sentiments in media and corporate culture. Last month, he pointed to Amazon excluding the Alliance Defending Freedom from its charitable program as a sign of conservative Christians being "belittled or forced out of the public square."