Google critic, 66, who testified that the tech giant's 2016 'election
meddling gave 2.6m votes to Hillary Clinton' now suggests his wife's fatal
car crash was NOT an accident
Robert Epstein, 66, said in July the internet
giant's methods 'gave' millions of votes to Hillary Clinton during the
2016 presidential election
In December he announced that his wife, Misti
Dawn Vaughn died in a crash
On Sunday he tweeted that her 'death makes you
wonder' after his briefings
On January 4 he tweeted: 'I AM STILL NOT
SUICIDAL. Hear that Google? Hillary?'
He had earlier dismissed the idea that '#Google
or #Hillary had anything to do with Misti's death', but seems to have
changed his mind in recent days
Epstein, a psychology professor, has criticized
Google’s operations and ethics
He testified that Google's algorithm gave 2.6
million votes to Hillary Clinton
Vaughn's truck spun out of control while out
driving in California in December
A high profile critic of Google,
who accused the search engine of meddling in the 2016 election, has now
suggested his wife's fatal car crash was not an accident.
Robert Epstein, 66, said in July the
internet giant's methods 'gave' millions of votes to Hillary
Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.
In December he announced that his wife,
Misti Dawn Vaughn, 29, died after her truck spun out of control along a
road in California and into
the path of a tractor-trailer.
On Sunday he tweeted: 'Last year, after I
briefed a group of state AGs about #Google's power to rig elections, one
of them said, "I think you're going to die in an accident in a few
months." A few months later, my beautiful wife #Misti died a violent
death. Makes you wonder.'
Epstein had earlier tweeted on January 4:
'BTW, although losing Misti is devastating for me - there will never be
another Misti in my life, after all - I AM STILL NOT SUICIDAL. Hear
that, #Google? Hear that, #Hillary?'
He had earlier dismissed the idea that
'#Google or #Hillary had anything to do with Misti's death', but seems
to have changed his mind in recent days.
Epstein, a psychology professor at the
American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, concluded
that Google's search methods 'gave' millions of votes to Hillary Clinton
during the 2016 presidential election.
+6
'I know the number of votes that shifted because
I have conducted dozens of controlled experiments in the U.S. and
other countries that measure precisely how opinions and votes shift
when search results favor one candidate, cause, or company,' Robert
Epstein testified
+6
Robert Epstein, shared in a heartbreaking tweet
that his wife, Misti Dawn Vaughn, pictured, died after her vehicle
spun out of control along a slipper road in California
+6
Epstein has now suggested his wife's fatal crash
was not an accident in this tweet Sunday
In July, Epstein outlined his claims under
questioning by Sen Ted Cruz of Texas, who had at one time been President
Donald Trump's chief primary challenger.
'I know the number of votes that shifted
because I have conducted dozens of controlled experiments in the US and
other countries that measure precisely how opinions and votes shift when
search results favor one candidate, cause, or company,' Epstein testified.
Epstein testified that Google's search
techniques 'shifted at least 2.6 millions votes to Clinton'.
Epstein said he analyzed 13,000
election-related searches from the campaign and that they were
'significantly biased in favor of Secretary Clinton'.
He said he 'conducted dozens of controlled
experiments that measure how opinions shift when search results are
biased.
'I call this shift "SEME" – the Search Engine
Manipulation Effect,' he said.
Epstein claims the search results have an
'subliminal' effect on voters that he calls 'online ephemeral
experiences'.
Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3
million votes, so Epstein's theory gives the impression Google could have
made the difference in the outcome.
However, even without getting into whether it
is possible for a search engine to change individual voter preferences,
Epstein testified that as many as 15 million votes could be impacted in
2020.
Epstein also claimed Google's 'Go Vote'
display gave an 800,000 vote advantage to the Democratic Party.
+6
Epstein, pictured with Clinton, a psychology
professor at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and
Technology, concluded that Google's search methods 'gave' millions of
votes to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election
+6
In December Epstein announced that his wife, Misti
Dawn Vaughn, 29, pictured, died after her truck spun out of control
along a road in California and into the path of a tractor-trailer
On January 4 he tweeted: 'I AM STILL NOT SUICIDAL.
Hear that, Google? Hear that, Hillary?'
Google has denied the allegations and said it
never altered its search results as a some elected conservatives now
claim.
'This researcher's inaccurate claim has been
debunked since it was made in 2016. As we stated then, we have never
re-ranked or altered search results to manipulate political sentiment,'
Google said at the time.
'Our goal is to always provide people with
access to high quality, relevant information for their queries, without
regard to political viewpoint,' the company added.
About a month after his testimony, Epstein
shared an article that claimed he had been 'killed' by a Google Street
View vehicle.
'And lots of you keep warning me that my life
is in danger. I sure hope that isn't true. Anyway, I was already killed by
a #Google Street View vehicle back in 2014!' Epstein wrote.
The tweet was accompanied by a link to the
Huffington Post article that claimed he died on July 19, 2014, after being
struck by the vehicle while crossing Front Street in San Diego.
'My beautiful wife Misti, a published poet,
succumbed last night to injuries sustained in a car accident,' her
grieving husband wrote
+6
Misti, 29, lost control of her Ford Ranger along
rain-slick on Interstate 15 in Escondido, according to the San Diego
Union-Tribune. When her truck spun out of control it crossed into the
path of an oncoming big rig that was hauling two dump trailers, it was
reported at the time
On December 28 he shared in a heartbreaking
tweet: 'My beautiful wife Misti, a published poet, succumbed last night to
injuries sustained in a car accident.
'I was supposed to die in your arms some day,
but a slippery road has ruined everything. You were not just my love, you
were my greatest adventure.'
Misti, 29, lost control of her Ford
Ranger along rain-slick on Interstate
15 in Escondido, according to the San
Diego Union-Tribune.
When her truck spun out of control it crossed
into the path of an oncoming big rig that was hauling two dump trailers,
it was reported at the time.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer
Mark Latulippe told the news outlet that the 50-year-old driver of the
tractor-trailer was unable to avoid hitting the woman's truck and struck
the passenger side of the pickup.
Moments later, a 19-year-old woman who was
driving a Toyota 4Runner was also unable to avoid the accident in front of
her and struck the Ranger.
The victim was treated at the scene for her
injuries before being rushed to Palomar Medical Center. Both the big rig
driver and the 19-year-old woman were uninjured.
Drugs or alcohol were not initially believed
to be factors in the crash and a police investigation was launched.
DailyMail.com has contacted CHP for the latest.