Google News Labs’ US Elections hub is about as interesting as the elections itself. Graphing its slew of data garnered from daily search habits, the Mountain View company is giving users another way to explore the gravity of the ballot they’re about to cast — whether its for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
Or well, even if you’re just an onlooker.
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Speaking of onlookers… although taking a look at search habits on a state-by-state basis is interesting enough, what about the rest of the world? Who is searching for what?
South Africa’s Google Search habits centre around racism, Black Lives Matter and ISIS (oh, and Donald Trump)
According to Google’s “outside USA” search chart, Canada is currently the most active country globally searching for “Donald Trump”, with Ireland coming in second, while Australia and New Zealand are tied for third.
Interestingly, South Africa is nowhere to be seen on Google‘s chart, but Kenya and Nigeria both feature for Africa.
The full search chart for “Donald Trump” is as follows:
- Canada
- Ireland
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- United Kingdom
- Norway
- Sweden
- Kenya
- Nigeria
- United Arab Emirates
“Hillary Clinton” searches are also most common in Canada at the time of writing, with Ireland again in second, while New Zealand pips Australia for third this time. Kenya and Nigeria also feature for Africa, with no South Africa in the top 12.
Canada and Ireland are the most active Google Search nations globally during this year’s US Elections
The full search chart for “Hillary Clinton” is as follows:
- Canada
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Singapore
- Norway
- Sweden
- Kenya
- Nigeria
- United Kingdom
- Mexico
- United Arab Emirates
What is South Africa searching for?
Where South Africa does feature will probably be a surprise.
When searching for “ISIS” alongside any of the other two candidates, South Africa is currently the world’s 10th most active country in terms of average search. “Racism” is another big search term for the country, currently sitting 11th globally, behind the likes of Nigeria, Sweden and New Zealand.
“Economy” is another big search focus for the country — but only when searched alongside “Donald Trump”. In that case, South Africa features 11th on the chart once again, while Sweden, Canada and Singapore head up the podium.
And finally, perhaps going hand in hand with the “Racism” keyword, “Black Lives Matter” when searched alongside “Donald Trump again, puts South Africa in the top four most active countries on the planet behind Ireland, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany.
For more coverage of the US Presidential Race 2016 with a social media and tech-spin, stay tuned to Memeburn throughout the week.
Feature image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
