A new study from the Media Research Center found that Google appeared to have worked overtime to ensure Pope Leo XIV resembled the late Pope Francis, a figure whose views occasionally unsettled traditional and “conservative” Catholics.
At the same time, the study revealed that Google is tarnishing the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI, a pontiff known for his defense of traditional Catholic teaching. The week of the recent papal conclave, MRC found that Google’s autocomplete suggestions favored Francis over Benedict, seemingly pushing glowing comments about Francis while suggesting bizarre, negative claims about Benedict.
Key findings: Google's autocomplete generated smearing suggestions about Benedict, such as the demonstrably false claim he opposed the Catholic Church and the Eucharist. Tellingly, Francis was spared from such smears.
Google's autocomplete consistently displayed a negative bias toward Pope Benedict, in stark contrast to the more positive suggestions for Pope Francis.
For instance, MRC found that when it began typing “Did Pope Benedict oppose,” Google autofilled with options like: “oppose the catholic,” “oppose catholicism,” “oppose the eucharist” and “oppose the roman.”
The idea that a pope would oppose the Church or the Eucharist, one of the key tenets of Catholicism, is absurd. Yet, these were Google’s suggestions. To MRC’s surprise, Google did not offer the same predictions for the prompt “Did Pope Francis oppose.”
The tech giant claims on its website that autocomplete’s predictions “reflect real searches that have been done on Google.” It also warned that autocomplete has “feature-specific policies” to block predictions that smear individuals.
“We don’t allow predictions that can be interpreted as accusations against individuals or groups of serious malevolent acts, where there is a lack of well-established or expert supporting evidence,” Google’s policy states.
It remains unclear how Google justified predictions implying Benedict was anti-Catholic. Even if this was an error, it does not explain the pattern of bias.
Google’s Autocomplete Sees Francis as a ‘Good Pope.’ Benedict? Not So Much
In another example, MRC asked Google, “Was Pope Francis considered…” Among the suggestions was “a good pope.” Google did not extend the same suggestion when MRC typed “Was Pope Benedict considered…” Instead, it suggested, “a saint,” “a catholic,” “rich,” “a martyr,” or an “apostle.”
While it is true that many Catholics viewed Francis as a good pope, some took issue with what could be considered positive remarks on leftist social issues. In contrast, the left was critical of Benedict, who staunchly defended orthodoxy.
Yet Google reflected criticism when it came to Benedict.
For “Pope Francis criticism,” Google predicted things like: “pope francis criticism of JD Vance,” “pope francis criticism of capitalism,” and “pope francis criticism of Israel.”
In contrast, “Pope Benedict criticism” brought up “pope benedict bad” and “pope benedict pros and cons.”
When comparing two other searches, the difference between the results for the two popes is stark.
Tellingly, when MRC typed “Was Pope Benedict…” Google suggested: “conservative,” “a good pope,” “forced out,” “bad,” “forced to resign,” and “pushed out.”
Meanwhile, similar searches for Francis returned unrelated trivia—such as “was pope francis a bouncer” or “was pope francis peter the woman.”
Methodology: MRC conducted Google Search autocomplete tests on May 7, using a private window in Brave browser to limit the influence of prior search history and cookies on the results. The following specific prompts were typed: “Was Pope Francis considered,” “Was Pope Benedict considered,” “Did Pope Francis oppose,” “Did Pope Benedict oppose,” “Pope Benedict Criticism,” “Pope Francis Criticism,” “Was Pope Benedict,” and “Was Pope Francis.”
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