When Searching for Trump’s Upcoming Madison Square Garden Event, Apple Search Is Recommending 1939 Nazi Rally at MSG

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik pilloried the search suggestion after discovering the apparent bias.

AP
The crowd responds with a Hitler salute as uniformed members of a German-American Bund color guard march at a gathering in New York's Madison Square Garden, February 20, 1939. AP

Apple’s web browser Safari and the company’s digital assistant Siri are recommending a Wikipedia article for the infamous 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden when searching for information about President Trump’s upcoming event at the same venue. 

The search suggestion was first noted by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and was later confirmed to be accurate by the New York Sun. 

When a user types “Madison Square Garden Trump” into the Safari search bar, a link to a Wikipedia article of the 1939 Nazi rally is the first recommended link provided under “Siri Suggestions.” Apple describes the Siri suggestion as an artificial intelligence tool used to direct users toward related information. 

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Ms. Stefanik, who is the fourth highest-ranking House Republican, harshly criticized Apple and Safari for the apparent result in a statement on Thursday. 

“The Big Tech misinformation machine is pushing dangerous propaganda that puts American patriots and President Trump at risk,” Ms. Stefanik writes. “This is yet another example of the unhinged rhetoric that has led to two assassination attempts against President Trump.”

A Democratic state senator who represents the Garden, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, first likened the upcoming Trump event — scheduled for October 27 — to the 1939 Nazi rally. 

“Let’s be clear. Allowing Trump to hold an event at MSG is equivalent to the infamous Nazis rally at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939,” Mr. Hoylman-Sigal wrote on X on Wednesday. “This is a disastrous decision by Madison Square Garden that will endanger the public safety of New Yorkers and has the potential to incite widespread violence. 

“For the good of NYC and its residents, I demand @TheGarden keep our city safe by canceling the Trump rally,” the state senator wrote. 

One prominent liberal commentator, Michael Beschloss, made a not-so-subtle remark about the Trump event on X as well. He simply posted a picture of the 1939 Nazi rally on the day Trump’s own event was confirmed. 

The 1939 rally was one of the largest gatherings of fascists in American history, with 20,000 attending the event in the heart of the nation’s largest city. Mayor LaGuardia had to deploy more than 1,700 uniformed officers to patrol outside the Garden, along with hundreds of additional detectives and undercover officers. The event was billed as a “pro-American” event to mark the birthday of President Washington, but the rally was ultimately a call for America to support Adolf Hitler in his genocidal war efforts. 


The New York Sun

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