The president claims “can I change my vote?” was “strongly trending” on Google immediately after the second debate. It should not be considered an indication of voter intent.”) (As Rogers regularly reminds readers, “Search data is an indication of curiosity in the subject or candidate. The trending data comes without context, which makes names, questions, and phrases susceptible to (mis)interpretation. In a recent issue focused on the final presidential debate, subscribers learned that “swine flu mortality rate” and “did fauci say not to wear masks” were both breakout searches within the first 30 minutes of the broadcast. Ahead of the election, the newsletter also serves as a reminder of the top issues for voters (unemployment, wages, and health care) despite relative spikes in other topics. By publishing lists of “breakout” phrases and trending questions, reporters can see what readers are most interested in knowing. The illuminating, curious, and occasionally hilarious missive started as a breakdown for coronavirus-related topics but has continued even as our collective attention has grown to include Black Lives Matter protests, the general election, and an onside kick by the Dallas Cowboys. Simon Rogers, a longtime data journalist who now serves as the data editor at Google News Lab, catalogs these in a regular Google Trends Newsletter. In July, trending queries included “ what is a faithless elector,” “ qualified immunity,” “ corona is airborne disease or not?” and “ brain eating amoeba florida.” (Such a fun summer.) More recently, “ why is columbus day celebrated,” “ how to watch 60 minutes,” and “ presidential debate drinking game” spiked. They’re turning to Google to answer them.
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