The article suggests otherwise.

If google is making changes to their algorithms in response to the last election, then it is by definition an attempt to manipulate the results of the next election.

Google is pushing "less credible" sites down, and one of the candidates in the election is an awesome liar. Of course that move will influence the election. It'll affect any election where one or more candidates is a fountain of lies, and supported by sites that are also fountains of lies.

I can see two plausible connections: 1) Google explicitly wants to boost honest sites over liars, and of course they know that Trump is. 2) The issue may have become more urgent because Trump shocked Googlers' sensibilities so often in the past four years. He has rather kept the issue on the agenda.

I agree with these connections, and I think it’s deeper than that.

I think the goal to promote truth over lies is a good one.

However I don’t think claiming that is the goal means that’s actually what google is doing.

All politicians lie, and all voters know this.

Frequency of lies is less salient than consequences of those lies.

I don’t believe that Google is able to make a determination about the salience that is not based on their political beliefs.

If they have the ability to identify lies, it would be far more helpful for them to actually make available a summary of the lies as a link alongside each result.

Otherwise this is just them imposing their political beliefs on the results in secret in order to manipulate the election.