Google today apologised for causing “any confusion or misunderstanding” due to its search engines throwing up Prime Minister Modi’s images when one looked for “Top 10 Criminals”
These results trouble us and are not reflective of the opinions of Google. Sometimes, the way images are described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries. We apologise for any confusion or misunderstanding this has caused. We’re continually working to improve our algorithms to prevent unexpected results like this.
– Google spokesperson
But the Twitter war that broke out, on Wednesday, between #Pappu and #Fekku supporters showed that people didn’t seem to care for logic when they went for the virtual jugular.
The images that the Google search throws up were from three news reports that spoke about Modi promising action against cabinet colleagues with criminal records.
The Real Reason Why Modi’s Picture Shows Up In the Search List for “Top 10 Criminals”
Following America’s gangster Al Capone as No 1, are three consecutive images of PM Modi’s.
The first Modi image gets picked up from The Telegraph website. Though the article does not mention the PM as a criminal in any way, the lead image used is that of Modi. The headline of the piece reads “Top Indian educationalist accused of racism over portrayal of criminal ‘negroes’”, which is the same as the URL (link) of the story. Since The Telegraph is a reputable site, Google would rank it high on search vintage. Keywords in the URL (“top” and “criminal”) would count for high keyword density. The ‘alt text’ or alternative text that is used to tag images in the HTML code also is the same as the headline. The ‘alt text’ is used to specify the alternate information about an image in case the image does not load, but this attribute also describes the image for search engine crawlers.
Other images that get thrown up in the search include one from DNA India and another from The Guardian. The two articles are about Modi speaking on politicians with criminal backgrounds, and the accompanying images are that of the Prime Minister.
The best illustration of how the Google algorithm functions is an article by Topyaps, “Narendra Modi Is Among The Top 10 Criminals Searched On Google. Twitter Reacts.” The image from this same story appears as the No 2 search result for “Top 10 criminals”.
There you go, do not rant and fret, this is just one of Google’s algorithmic quirks, or flaws, and has nothing to do with our Prime Minister’s character; if anything he is on a self-confessed anti-criminal drive in the articles from which such a diametrically opposite/misleading result is being thrown up.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)