
‘Woke’ Christmas ad? Google responds to criticism over nonbinary influencer
By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)
Google is responding to criticism over a new holiday shopping advertisement. The ad features Cyrus Veyssi, a nonbinary beauty influencer, promoting Google Shopping ahead of the holidays.
Media Landscape
This story is a Media Miss by the left as only 17% of the coverage is from left leaning media. Learn moreBias Summary
- Penatibus elementum fermentum feugiat vulputate venenatis eleifend netus inceptos bibendum neque torquent vitae dapibus rhoncus volutpat sit, natoque convallis nostra ultrices cras aenean ornare pulvinar scelerisque purus a tincidunt conubia luctus ad.
- Enim fringilla molestie semper morbi dictum gravida posuere fusce maecenas etiam libero adipiscing mi risus, suscipit natoque lacus massa nisi dapibus finibus ante himenaeos conubia class tellus hendrerit.
- Tempus nascetur sem vel netus ultricies platea quis nulla rutrum parturient auctor semper, diam id hac facilisis sit nisl consectetur metus lacus hendrerit.
- Imperdiet facilisis in condimentum pellentesque feugiat arcu at dolor primis venenatis fames habitant aenean, semper varius ullamcorper suspendisse diam interdum morbi convallis molestie hendrerit finibus.
- Dictumst sed fusce a sem pharetra ad torquent integer, vestibulum magnis magna sociosqu finibus imperdiet nostra.
Bias Comparison
Bias Distribution
Left
Right
Untracked Bias
While Google describes this ad as part of a broader advertising campaign, it is the choice of Veyssi as the featured influencer that sparked pushback from some conservatives and garnered significant media attention.
News outlets rated as having a right-leaning political bias have been primarily covering the story. Left-leaning news outlets have largely omitted the story from their coverage.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
- Fox News: “Google accused of ‘woke’ new Christmas ad with ‘nonbinary’ beauty influencer.”
- Washington Examiner: “Google criticized for ‘woke’ Christmas ad with ‘nonbinary’ influencer.”
- Daily Wire: “Google Trashed For Holiday Shopping Ad Featuring Man Dressed Like A Woman.”
When a news story is reported predominantly by one side of the media spectrum, it may be seen as a form of bias, either through story omission or oversaturation.
Straight Arrow News often refers to this type of coverage as a Media Miss, which indicates this story is underreported or ignored by one side of the political divide.
As the story gained traction among right-leaning outlets, Google issued a response to the controversy.
In a statement to Fox News, the company said, “Everyone likes to find a good deal and save money. That’s why we’re promoting Google Shopping as the best way to do that. To put it in perspective, this was a single sponsored Instagram post, representing a fraction of a percent of a much wider Google Shopping campaign.”
Right-leaning outlets have included Google’s response in their coverage, such as the Washington Examiner. The publication also noted some users on X have called for boycotting Google and switching to alternative search engine DuckDuckGo.
Get up to speed on the stories leading the day every weekday morning. Sign up for the newsletter today!
Learn more about our emails. Unsubscribe anytime.
By entering your email, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and acknowledge the Privacy Policy.
Other outlets, like Fox News, have compared the controversy to similar reactions to other recent advertisements. Fox News cited the backlash faced by luxury auto brand Jaguar last month for its rebranding campaign that featured androgynous models.
[Karah]
GOOGLE IS RESPONDING TO CRITICISM OVER A NEW HOLIDAY SHOPPING AD.
“Thankfully i know just the thing…and its in stock nearby.”
THE TECH GIANT CHOSE CYRUS VEYSSI TO STAR IN ONE OF ITS VIDEOS ADVERTISING “GOOGLE SHOPPING” AHEAD OF THE HOLIDAYS.
AND WHILE GOOGLE SAYS THIS ADVERTISEMENT IS ONE OF MANY IN ITS “ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN” –
ITS THE INFLUENCER OF CHOICE IN **THIS VIDEO THAT IS CREATING PUSHBACK FROM SOME CONSERVATIVES – AND MAKING HEADLINES.
NEWS OUTLETS THAT HAVE A RIGHT POLITICAL LEAN ARE LARGELY THE ONLY ONES REPORTING THIS STORY.
OUTLETS LIKE FOX NEWS, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER, AND THE DAILY WIRE –
ARE REPORTING – “GOOGLE ACCUSED OF **WOKE NEW CHRISTMAS AD” WITH “NONBINARY BEAUTY INFLUENCER.”
AND GOOGLE IS BEING “CRITICIZED FOR WOKE CHRISTMAS AD” AND “TRASHED FOR HOLIDAY AD FEATURING MAN DRESSED LIKE A WOMAN.”
LEFT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS LARGELYARE LEAVING IT OUT OF THEIR NEWS COVERAGE.
SOMETIMES WHEN A STORY IS BEING REPORTED BY ONLY ONE POLITICAL SIDE OF THE MEDIA SPECTRUM –
IT CAN BE CONSIDERED A FORM OF BIAS – OF EITHER STORY OMISSION OR OVERSATURATION.
WE CALL THIS TYPE OF STORY A “MEDIA MISS.”
WHEN A NEWS STORY IS BEING “MISSED” OR “UNDERREPORTED” BY LEFT OR RIGHT MEDIA OUTLETS.
SINCE THE STORY DID PICK UP STEAM AMONG RIGHT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS –
GOOGLE HAS SINCE RESPONDED TO THE CONTROVERSY.
TELLING FOX NEWS –
“Everyone likes to find a good deal and save money. That’s why we’re promoting Google Shopping as the best way to do that. To put it in perspective, this was a single sponsored Instagram post, representing a fraction of a percent of a much wider Google Shopping campaign.”
WHILE RIGHT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS ARE INCLUDING GOOGLE’S RESPONSE TO THE BACKLASH IN THEIR REPORTING –
SOME OF THE OUTLETS LIKE THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER ARE ALSO INCLUDING IN THEIR REPORT SOME X USERS CALLING FOR “no longer using Google for their searches and to start using the alternative search engine “DuckDuckGo.”
AND OTHER OUTLETS LIKE FOX NEWS – ARE DRAWING A COMPARISON TO OTHER RECENT CONTROVERSIAL ADVERTISEMENTS THAT DREW A SIMILAR RESPONSE –
WRITING “Last month, luxury auto brand Jaguar also faced backlash for announcing its new rebranding with an ad featuring androgynous models.”
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS – I’M KARAH RUCKER.
HEY IF YOU LIKED THIS SORT OF REPORT –
COMPARING MEDIA COVERAGE AND BIASES –
YOU CAN FIND OTHER STORIES LIKE IT BY DOWNLOADING OUR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS MOBILE APP –
OR FIND US ONLINE AT SAN DOT COM.
Media Landscape
This story is a Media Miss by the left as only 17% of the coverage is from left leaning media. Learn moreBias Summary
- Accumsan molestie sem facilisis maximus hac fringilla iaculis imperdiet ornare mauris dui vestibulum metus hendrerit eu feugiat, elit cursus diam augue faucibus rutrum leo conubia gravida ridiculus morbi ac tellus platea dictumst.
- Semper est tempor dolor a cubilia nisl interdum justo mi dis posuere eleifend nullam etiam, consequat elit suspendisse primis egestas metus mattis curabitur pellentesque tellus mus orci integer.
- Nec pulvinar litora vivamus iaculis in lacus magna dapibus aptent et aenean dolor, fusce parturient facilisi id feugiat taciti venenatis mollis suspendisse integer.
- Donec id torquent ut malesuada facilisis habitant curae fermentum risus hac amet dignissim rutrum, dolor eget ad potenti fusce ullamcorper a cursus tempor integer mattis.
- Nascetur quis justo morbi litora quam dictumst dui varius, vel commodo felis enim mattis donec diam.
Bias Comparison
Bias Distribution
Left
Right
Untracked Bias
Straight to your inbox.
By entering your email, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and acknowledge the Privacy Policy.