About Rod D. Martin
Praise for Rod D. Martin
Book Rod to Speak
Politics & Economics
Technology & Markets
Faith & Culture
by Tyler O’Neil
August 20, 2019
On Monday morning (8/19), President Donald Trump shared the results of a study showing that Hillary Clinton’s margin of victory in the popular vote in the 2016 election could be explained by Google bias.
The study’s author, Ph.D. psychologist Robert Epstein, was himself a Clinton supporter in 2016, but he is concerned about Google’s power to manipulate elections.
Trump’s tweet likely referred to a 2017 white paper published by the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology (AIBRT) suggesting that Clinton’s popular vote margin was almost entirely attributable to pro-Clinton bias at Google.
“Extrapolating from the mathematics introduced in this report … the lead author of the PNAS study [Epstein himself] predicted that a pro-Clinton bias in Google’s search results would, over time, shift at least 2.6 million votes to Clinton. She won the popular vote in the November election by 2,864,974 votes,” Epstein wrote with his co-author Ronald E. Robertson.
“Without the pro-Clinton bias in Google’s search results, her win margin in the popular vote would have been negligible,” Epstein wrote.
Trump is correct to infer from this that his “victory was even bigger than thought.” If the study is correct, it is a near miracle that the president prevailed over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
I myself became aware of Epstein’s study last September at a screening of the film The Creepy Line, which heavily features Epstein’s research. Here’s the trailer:
“It’s actually at the end of the paper I released months ago, quite a while ago,” Epstein told me. “From my perspective, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s just math.” He noted that “the math in the 2015 PNAS paper is pretty solid. There’s even a table in there that allows you to figure out whether or not you can use search rankings to flip an election based on the projected win margin.”
During the interview, Epstein lamented Trump’s win and his presidency, but he insisted that Google’s power is a much more important and terrifying issue.
“This is not a problem for conservatives. This is a problem for humanity,” the psychologist says. “Who gave a handful of executives in Silicon Valley the right to decide what billions of people around the world can see and cannot see? Who gave them that power?”
It remains unclear why Trump referenced Judicial Watch in his tweet. Jill Farrell, public affairs director at Judicial Watch, says, “We interpret President Trump’s tweet as encouragement that Judicial Watch investigate this issue as part of our Election Integrity Project.”
In any case, the results of Epstein’s study are indeed worrying for conservatives and liberals.
A survey last year found that conservative employees in Silicon Valley tech companies live in fear that their political beliefs will be found out. James Damore said conservatives at Google are “in the closet” and that Google executives are digging through a secret mailing list in order to out them.
Last month, a Google whistleblower told Project Veritas that Google News results are intentionally biased against Trump. This confirms the results of an unscientific test on Google News bias (tweeted out by Trump himself), and a more scientific study also suggesting bias.
The Google News slant is not a conspiracy theory, though Google of course denies manipulating results. After all, Google employees heavily favor Democrats in their political donations.
More than 90 percent of political contributions from employees of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, have gone to Democrats since 2004. In 2018, 96 percent went to Democrats.
All Americans should be concerned about Google’s ability to interfere in elections, and a former Google engineer said the company will try to prevent Trump’s reelection. This should worry all Americans, no matter what they think about Trump.
The president is correct: Google’s bias makes his victory even more significant.
— Trump is Right on Google originally appeared at To The Point News.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
