As the default browser to the general public, Google LLC is oftentimes viewed as nonpartisan, hosting websites for opinions and organizations all along the political spectrum. However, this assumption is not correct.
In the past few years, Google’s actions have reflected a growing political bias. As the Trump administration continues to make drastic changes, Google has been following suit.
In 2024, Google made significant changes to the holidays recognized on Google Calendar. The chopping block included Black History Month, Pride Month, Women’s History Month, National Indigenous Peoples Month and many diversity celebrations, including their corresponding days. This change, written off as a way to save time and money, directly affects minorities by reducing their visibility.
The default holiday calendar as it is published in the United States, is now based on the accepted holidays and recognitions of timeanddate.com.
One Wayne State College student, sophomore Emma Dunn, shared the story of how she realized these changes were made when her birthday was no longer listed as International Women’s Day.
“I had seen it on the calendar years prior,” said Dunn. “However, this last year I noticed it wasn’t on the calendar.”
The changes were made alongside a full political shift from Google. The removal of these events preceded the Trump administration’s rollback on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies that began immediately after the administration took office on Jan. 20, 2025.
The same day Donald Trump took office, his administration also signed an executive order to rename the widely accepted Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Putting itself in direct alignment with right-wing American politics, Google immediately changed the name as it is shown on Google Maps.
This was just another example of Google accepting right-wing partisanship, and as many of their choices have pointed towards a bias, we have little reason to believe they will pull back.
Since the public has slowly become more aware of the changes, Google has given up the excuse that it was too difficult to keep up with the many holidays. This reasoning is hard to believe, because it disregards the fact that making the change took extra time, money and work to get rid of the discarded holidays. Moreover, it ignores the further spending Google will have to do to answer questions on the subject, and combat anger from the public.
With little coverage on the issue last year, many individuals believed the change was enacted on Jan. 1, 2025. Google offered a statement in a Google Workshop post, saying, “in mid-2024 we made the decision to simplify and show only public holidays and national observances… contrary to some of the comments on social media, this was not something we did just this year.”
Google’s statements focus on when the changes were made, ignoring the most important issue: the change was made to lessen inclusion and acceptance of other cultures and minorities.
Google also said that they, “celebrate and promote a variety of cultural moments across [their] products.” However, their actions oppose this claim. It is unfair for Google to argue nonpartisanship when they have conformed to every wish of the Trump administration, regardless of ethical concerns.
Although their reasoning is designed to sound neutral, the timing of their changes suggest a deeper political motive.
This supports the idea that Google is attempting to hide their partisanship from the American public. They have allowed the American people to believe that just because they are a browser home to many ideas, they do not follow biases of their own.
“They had all of these important days/months on the calendar, or on their website for so long and it wasn’t an issue then, so they shouldn’t really have an issue… keeping them now,” said Dunn. “It also feels like they’re trying to hide all these groups of people and brushing off any hardships they had.”
Google’s removal of cultural holidays and events from their calendar is damaging their relationship with the majority of the American public.
“I think Google’s relationship with the current U.S. administration is damaging the American public by not sharing important times of the year. Growing up, I would hear that America is ‘the melting pot of nations,’ so it’s always been important to celebrate everything, especially those who couldn’t for so long,” said Dunn. “For Google just to erase all of those days/months off the calendar, it’s almost like they think it’s unimportant for people to recognize these days.”
Contrary to claims from Google that they promote cultural diversity, their online services continue to exclude minorities from the recognition others are allowed. American citizens should be concerned by the way Google has mistreated the erasing of minorities as house cleaning for their team on Google Calendar.
“I just truly think it’s important to have these days/months on the calendars because it represents a portion of our world,” said Dunn.
Understanding the bias Google shows toward the Trump administration is important. By pushing partisan politics through the removal of diversity on Google Calendar, Google is neglecting the representation of many different minority groups. Their attempt at a quiet removal of these
holidays is more than a technical update. The issue is not simply the calendar, but the unethical choices Google has made in reducing diversity and cultural inclusion.
To add holidays to your personal Google Calendar, you can go to settings in the Google Calendar app or website, navigate to “Holidays” under “Browse calendars of interest,” and select your country and holiday view preference.