Epstein has done important work on using search engines to manipulate elections invisibly. Manipulation by order of results, by autocomplete. A starting point is his webpage http://drrobertepstein.com/index.php/internet-studies.
Dr Epstein has impeccable establishment credentials. Former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today. His work on elections was published in Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences USA. He can’t be dismissed as a mere Deplorable.
A bit of followup on Epstein’s work.
“The New Mind Control” mentions work by others on a different way to manipulate elections invisibly. Facebook could identify the political leanings of many of its users, and send out “get out the vote” reminders only to those users who agree with Facebook’s politics. A small effect, around half a percent in the experiment, but maybe important in a close election.
Epstein’s article in POLITICO “How Google could rig the 2016 election” has a good summary near the end on “the gold standards of research in the behavioral sciences.” How to do these things right, explained in one paragraph for a general audience.