TechDigits

Tech news
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024

Hidden like his statue? Amid virtual outrage, Google vows to explore why Churchill’s photo briefly vanished from search results

Hidden like his statue? Amid virtual outrage, Google vows to explore why Churchill’s photo briefly vanished from search results

Google has claimed there is a perfectly benign reason for Winston Churchill’s photograph disappearing from its search engine – but many are unconvinced, as the iconic British PM is now in the eye of the protest storm.

Eagle-eyed internet users raised hell after discovering that Churchill – who led the United Kingdom through World War II – was faceless when listed in Google’s knowledge panel, which provides general information about common search queries.

In a list of UK prime ministers generated by the tech giant, Churchill lacked a photograph, while his predecessors and successors were all given portraits.

“Utterly disturbing that such a company can have that power to censor our British history,” wrote one outraged Twitter user.


Conservative MP Simon Clarke argued that Western Europe would likely be “enslaved” without Churchill, and expressed hope that Google hadn’t intentionally removed his photograph.

Breitbart journalist Chris Tomlinson suggested there was something sinister afoot after pointing to the fact that a statue of Churchill in London had only recently been boarded up, purportedly in an effort to shield it from Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

“We're aware an image for Sir Winston Churchill is missing from his knowledge graph entry on Google,” the firm's search liaison arm said on Twitter.

The company soon acknowledged the error, but they insisted it was not purposeful and would be fixed.


“Images in such panels are automatically created & updated. During an update, they can briefly disappear,” Google said in a statement on Twitter. “We'll want to explore exactly why an automatic update caused it to disappear & see if there are any improvements in those systems to address.” The company later announced that the issue had been resolved.

Anger over the decision to cocoon the Churchill statue, along with other monuments, led to counter-protests in London and other British cities over the weekend. Scuffles with police and BLM demonstrators broke out after crowds of veterans and other self-described patriots showed up, saying they were attempting to guard the landmarks from harm.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×