Google says “political search interest spikes 440 percent on average” during the debates, as people search for more information about the candidates on stage. To better serve those viewers, the search giant is partnering with Fox News in offering an easy way for viewers to access candidate positions as soon as the debate goes live.
If you have your phone ready at 7 pm ET on January 28, as the final Republican debate (before the primaries) begins, search “Fox News debate” and you’ll be able to see the candidates’ positions on issues in real-time in Google’s popular card-style format. The firm says that campaigns can publish “long-form text, photos, and videos throughout the debate,” answering questions the candidates couldn’t on stage.
Google Trends is also playing a role it played in past debates, offering not only real-time data on the candidates, but also showing “questions asked about key issues, trending terms, and rankings.” You can keep an eye out for information such as who the most searched candidate was during the debate.
Directly from your Google search of “Fox News debate,” you’ll also be able to answer polling questions about certain issues, and Fox News will mention the results and responses on air after the debate.
As with the past debates and since the 2008 election, YouTube is also bringing another batch of prominent content creators to the spotlight to ask candidates a question on issues that matter to them. This debate’s group includes Nabela Noor, Mark Watson, and Dulce Candy.
Though it doesn’t get as much love or attention as Google, Bing isn’t sitting out the election either. Microsoft’s search engine is touting the “Bing Political Index” that similarly shows candidates’ positions on issues during the debate. The company announced today that the BPI predicts Republican frontrunner Donald Trump to win all four of the February GOP primaries and caucuses, with Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton winning everything but New Hampshire, which Sen. Bernie Sanders will take.
The “undercard” Republican presidential debate, for lower-polling candidates, airs on Fox News at 7 pm ET on January 28, and the prime-time debate for the leading candidates will begin at 9 pm ET.
