Google this: Clinton surpasses Trump in searches
The Democratic presidential nominee overtakes her Republican challenger in Google searches during their first debate.
Hillary Clinton has achieved an unusual accomplishment: more Google searches than her competitor.
Searches for the Democratic nominee outpaced those for Republican challenger Donald Trump 60 percent to 40 percent during the pair's spirited and closely watched debate on Monday night, according to Google. Interest in the former secretary of state was greater than that in the reality TV star in all 50 states.
The performance marked just the fifth time this year searches for Clinton outstripped those for Trump, Google said.
Appearing calm and prepared, Clinton poked holes in Trump's arguments while the Republican challenger interrupted in his signature blustery fashion. About two thirds of viewers said Clinton won the debate.
The Clinton camp seemed to capitalize on her performance. People searching for information about volunteering for her campaign were 120 percent more than searches by people looking to volunteer for Trump.
The surge in potential volunteers comes as both candidates try to gin up interest in their campaigns. Clinton's camp recently sent supporters an email asking them to "advocate on every online platform" during the debate. Trump has bought a Snapchat filter.
Fact-checkers were busy using Google to confirm statements both candidates made. Among the topics searched: the constitutionality of stop and frisk; details of the Benghazi embassy attack; how much money Trump got from his father; and how many times Trump filed for bankruptcy.
A testy exchange between the candidates on Trump's support for the Iraq war prompted a spike in fact-checking, Google said. Searches on the terms "Trump Iraq war" spiked to 137 times those for "Clinton emails," terms that refer to Clinton's use of a private server as secretary of state and the deletion of tens of thousands of correspondences.
Still, Trump, who said he has the "winning temperament" needed to be president, did score a victory online: searches for the phrase "Trump won" surpassed those for "Hillary won" by 90 percent.