Google Search API documentation leak — March 2024 corroborates NavBoost-style click signals

Claim: The 2024 Google API documentation leak (independently reported by Rand Fishkin and Mike King) corroborated under-oath testimony about NavBoost-style click-based re-ranking — providing a second, independent source for the existence of click signals as a load-bearing ranking factor.

Source: Leaked Google internal Search API documentation, March 2024; analysis by Rand Fishkin (SparkToro) and Mike King (iPullRank).

Confidence: Verified (two independent sources — DOJ testimony + leaked docs).

Why this matters for Candid: When two independent sources (sworn antitrust testimony + leaked internal docs) confirm the same mechanism, the claim graduates from "vendor speculation" to "structural fact." NavBoost — Google's 13-month click-based re-ranking, confirmed under oath in DOJ v. Google 2023 is the trial-testimony anchor; this is the corroborating leak.