The Intercept revealed in 2018 that Google was secretly developing Project Dragonfly — a censored search engine for China that would blacklist terms like 'human rights,' 'student protest,' and 'Nobel Prize,' and link users' searches to their personal phone numbers. Over 1,400 Google employees signed a letter protesting the project. After public outcry and congressional scrutiny, Google's VP of Public Policy confirmed the project was terminated in 2019.
Google secretly built a censored search engine for China (Project Dragonfly) that would link searches to phone numbers
“Google is secretly building a censored search engine for China that would help the Chinese government track and control what citizens can see online.”
📄 The Receipts
⚖️ The Record, Side by Side
What they said vs. what the evidence shows
“Right now, there are no plans to launch in China. We are exploring many options and our work has been very early-stage.”
— Google CEO Sundar Pichai (initially) · Oct 2018
🙈 They Laughed At Us
“Right now, there are no plans to launch in China. We are exploring many options and our work has been very early-stage.”
⏳ The Vindication Timeline
From “crazy” to confirmed
The Claim Is Made
This is the moment they called it crazy.
Confirmed: They Were Right
The truth comes out. Officially documented.
Confirmed: They Were Right
The truth comes out. Officially documented.
📊 How Right We Were
The People Speak(61)
No one's said anything yet. Be the first to drop your take.
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