Trump University, Schooled: How the Internet Is Influencing Presidential Debate-Watching - and Vice Versa

 
Candidates actually urging debate watchers in front of their TVs or computers to 'google' a topic injurious to their opponent.

How soon before candidates begin planting stories and then promoting them? Guess what: it's already started with Republican Ted Cruz. But he won't be the last. JL

Phillip Bump reports in the Washington Post:

Rubio repeatedly told viewers to Google  "Donald Trump Polish workers," so people would read the details of a suit filed against the developer involving the construction of Trump Tower. People went to Google. Polish workers didn't move the needle at all. What they were searching for was one of the other little punches Marco Rubio tossed into the mix: Trump University.
Between 8:45 p.m.and 9:45 p.m. Thursday night, Marco Rubio learned how to box.In the first few minutes, after Wolf Blitzer rang the bell to start the fight at the GOP debate in Houston, Rubio threw punch after punch after punch at Donald Trump, barely letting one land before he moved on to the next one. Campaigns put together portfolios of attacks that plan to use, called "oppo books." Marco Rubio pulled every sheet out of that book and then tossed the empty cover at Trump, too, for good measure.

That was nerves. Less than an hour later, Rubio was landing strategic, gleeful blows, and Trump was flustered. Rubio's best line was the one about how if Trump hadn't gotten an inheritance, he'd be selling watches. But the one that grated on Trump the most was when he noted Trump's habit of repeating himself. Over that hour, it was like Rubio leveled up.

During that first flurry, it was clear which point Rubio thought would be the most effective. He repeatedly told viewers to Google "Trump Polish workers" or "Donald Trump Polish workers," so that people would read the details of a suit filed against the developer involving the construction of Trump Tower. That suit, which was eventually settled, accused Trump of knowingly employing and abusing illegal Polish immigrants to work on building the structure.
People went to Google. But what they were searching for was one of the other little punches Marco Rubio tossed into the mix: Trump University.
You can see the spike on the Google search chart here. It came during that first fight.

But you can see it more clearly below. When Ted Cruz mentioned it later in the debate -- more clearly landing his blows -- searches spiked even higher.

(The Polish workers didn't move the needle at all.)
The issue at hand is a lawsuit filed against Trump in regard to a "university" that carried his name. The Post's Emma Brown covered the story last year. Brown wrote:

Never licensed as a school, Trump University was in reality a series of real estate workshops in hotel ballrooms around the country, not unlike many other for-profit self-help or motivational seminars. Though short-lived, it remains a thorn in Trump’s side nearly five years after its operations ceased: In three pending lawsuits, including one in which the New York attorney general is seeking $40 million in restitution, former students allege that the enterprise bilked them out of their money with misleading advertisements.

As Cruz noted, Trump may be a witness when the case comes to court later this year.
Rubio's initial flurry was rushed and anxious, but it appears to have been a spaghetti-on-the-wall moment. What stuck? Trump University.