Google on Thursday, 3 June, apologised after facing the backlash when a Google search “ugliest language in India” returned Kannada as an answer.
The search engine’s results sparked outrage among Kannadigas on the internet. Karnataka Government also lashed out by saying that they will send a legal notice to Google, reported The Indian Express.
Lok Sabha member PC Mohan shared a screenshot of the Google search result for “ugliest language in India”. After his tweet went viral, the absurdity of the search engine’s response faced a backlash.
Minister of Forest Aravind Limbavali tweeted, "Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago! It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia (sic)."
He later went on to demand an apology from Google for hurting the pride of Kannadigas.
“If Kannada is now called ugliest language in India, it is merely an attempt by Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. Demand apology from Google ASAP to Kannada, Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken against Google for maligning the image of our beautiful language!”Aravind Limbavali, Minister of Forest, Karnataka
Following the outrage, Google uploaded a statement apologising for the search result.
"Search isn't always perfect," said Google. It then explained how the way things are described on Internet can sometimes lead to surprising results to specific queries.
“We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms. Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologize for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiment. (sic)”Google
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