Filtering out Trump: Chrome ext aims to ‘suffocate’ Rep. presidential candidate on web

During the last Republican presidential debate, Donald Trump said he wanted to “shut down” parts of the internet. However, it seems as though the world wide web is hitting back, with a Google Chrome extension created to block any mention of the billionaire.

The Trump Filter on Google Chrome can be adjusted to allow people to choose how much, or how little, they want to read online about the Republican presidential candidate.

“Thus, the Trump Filter is presented as part of the antidote for this toxic candidacy. This Chrome extension will identify parts of a web page likely to contain Donald Trump and erase them from the internet,” a description of the app stated.

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The Trump Filter was designed by Rob Spectre who lives and works in Brooklyn. He believes that the only way Trump’s political campaign can be deflated is through suffocation. Therefore he wants to deprive the billionaire of as much internet coverage as possible.

“In a political atmosphere where ascendance can be manufactured through attention, the only way to deflate Trump's political star is through suffocation. Trump can only lose if we turn off the TV,” he stated on his website.

However, Spectre says unfortunately for those wanting a total Trump blackout, the Trump Filter does not work on TVs. 

“Tragically, Trump Filter cannot be installed on your television. However, we hope that enough installs will be a strong signal to the international media that America is ready to move on from this inveterate jackass,” he concluded.

At the Republican presidential debate on December 15 in Las Vegas, Trump courted controversy by saying he wanted to close down parts of the internet to fight against terrorism.

“ISIS [Islamic State/IS, also known as ISIL] is recruiting through the internet. ISIS is using the internet better than we are using the internet and it was our idea,” the billionaire Republican candidate said. “I want to get the brilliant people from Silicon Valley and other places and figure out a way that ISIS can’t do what they’re doing.”

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Richard Spencer, the founder and editor of Radix Journal, does not believe the filter is censorship, as those using the option have a choice whether or not they want to block Trump. 

“I think this is more interesting on a physiological level as the media establishment just wants Trump to go away. I think this Chrome extension is a kind of metaphor for their desire because he is bringing things into politics that people don’t want to talk about and don’t want to deal with,” he told RT.   

The billionaire is certainly proving to be a polarizing figure. While some hate him, others cannot get enough of him. He continues to surge in the polls and a recent survey by Rasmussen Reports showed that Trump is almost neck and neck with Democrat favorite Hilary Clinton.

Spencer puts Trump’s popularity down to his ability to touch on issues, such as immigration and US foreign policy, that the political elite and mainstream media are afraid to touch.

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“We were going to have a campaign of Jeb Bush versus Hilary Clinton – a campaign that would put me to sleep and many other people. He wanted to come in and run a campaign about big issues and the established media don’t want to see it,” Spencer added.  

Trump shows no sign of going away in the Republican race and on Tuesday he stated that he plans to spend $2 million a week on advertising in the first three voting states for the primaries. The billionaire had previously looked exclusively towards social media to promote his campaign and had ignored television commercials.