Donald Trump has been saying for a while now that today’s inauguration would have “unbelievable, perhaps record-setting turnout“—we’re talking runs on local “dress shop” numbers—and while that was far from the reality, America’s Google search history does show that there was unusually large interest in the event.
The thing is, the vast majority of that interest is focused on protesting the event.
According to numbers released to Vox, the number of people searching for “protest inauguration” is far higher than those searching for “attend inauguration.” And that disparity extends to states that Trump carried in the election.
13 states that voted for Trump in November searched far more for “protest inauguration” this week than for “attend inauguration.” pic.twitter.com/1qCgNtRfyv
— Vox (@voxdotcom) January 20, 2017
Of course, we don’t know the meaning behind all of these searches. Just because a person searches for inauguration protests, doesn’t mean they’re participating or even supportive. But a major point of protest is visibility. The 200,000 expected to turn out in Washington tomorrow (along with the sister marches, which are now taking place not just in every state, but on all seven continents) aren’t showing up because they think their presence will automatically remove Trump from office. A lot of people simply want the world, and those in power, to know that there is opposition, that not everyone supports a Trump presidency.
And according to those Google searches, that fact is well-known.
(via Vox, image via Shutterstock)
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