WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims Google involved in Hillary Clinton campaign

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims that Google has been working closely with US presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton's campaign in efforts to promote the candidate in the race to the White House. Speaking from the Ecuadorean embassy in London, via video conference as part of a two-day media event named "New Era of Journalism: Farewell to Mainstream", he said: "Google is directly engaged with Hillary Clinton's campaign," the Sputnik reported.

Pointing out that Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt is now heading the Pentagon's innovation branch, Assange said: "Google is heavily integrated with Washington power, at personal level and at business level... Google which has increasing control over the distribution channels... is intensely allying itself with the US exceptionalism."

Commenting on Clinton's nomination prospects, Assange said: "What we have with Clinton is someone who is a hawk but who has the tools of legal interventionism, a rhetorical cover to start the wars, and someone who seemingly wants to start them... From WikiLeaks' perspective Hillary Clinton is a problem in terms of war and peace."

According to a report by RT, Assange is not the only one to have identified a connection between Clinton's campaign and Google. Behavioural psychologist Dr Robert Epstein said in an interview that Schmidt has set up a little-heard-of start-up called Groundword, the sole purpose of which is "to put Clinton in office".

"It's a very secretive organisation, super high-tech stuff, and [it's] very likely they're using these techniques that we've been studying in our research to make sure that votes are shifted to Clinton in November," he added.

"There is a merger between the corporate organisations and state... 80% of the National Security Agency budget is privatised. The NSA is the core of the US deep state... There has been a smoothing out between the government and the corporations," said Assange, indicating that there may be quid pro quo deals between the US government and private tech giants like Google.

"[Google] shows the will to use that at different levels. It will inevitably influence its audience," Assange added.

Assange has been staying in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012 in efforts to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sexual assault allegations, which Assange has denied. The whistleblower fears that if extradited to Sweden, he could then be extradited to the US where he is wanted for charges relating to espionage, conspiracy, theft of government property and computer fraud for his involvement in the WikiLeaks revelations.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in February declared that Assange was being unlawfully detained and that the British and Swedish authorities should end his detention and grant him freedom. However, British authorities have maintained that Assange faces arrest and possible extradition if he chooses to step out of the confines of the Ecuadorian embassy.