New Delhi: Google's search result on typing "India first PM" has left several people shaking their heads in disbelief. Google, believed to throw up accurate results, was showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's picture when the users typed "India first PM" in its search bar.
Though Jawaharlal Nehru`s name appeared on the Wikipedia link, the photo was that of current Prime Minister Modi. Modi`s picture was somehow appearing alongside Nehru`s name on the Wikipedia link - "List of Prime Ministers of India".
When the issue got highlighted, several Twitter users started posting their reactions along with the screenshots. Some of them were quick to blame Google for the "error", some took it with light humour. Here is how Twitter reacted:
Obviously ! He is the PM who believes "INDIA FIRST" .. It's "INDIA FIRST" PM ..M
No wonder, Google got confused between India's First PM and India's BEST PM .. pic.twitter.com/fHkzgeVilN
— Suresh (@sureshganapathi) April 26, 2018
Type 'India first pm' in google and result is Mr.Narendra Modi's photo instead of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. @Google Pls correct it.. How come you also fell in the trap of Mr.Modi? pic.twitter.com/H8zlP9zzW0
— Ashok Tanwar (@AshokTanwar_INC) April 25, 2018
.@Google @GoogleIndia what algorithm of yours allows this?! You’re so full of junk- pic.twitter.com/GHyxh3fEWm
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) April 25, 2018
Mitron, who was India's first PM? pic.twitter.com/K8IQXgusx3
— Salil Tripathi (@saliltripathi) April 25, 2018
I just googled India’s first pm after @anupamaskapoor asked me to and I got this. pic.twitter.com/rSMbk8psXC
— shunali khullar shroff (@shunalishroff) April 26, 2018
Here's a bit of a tech lesson.
i have been seeing this screenshot go viral. When you google 'India's first PM' it gives an excerpt with a Narendra modi picture. Many are saying its because of Google's search algo. Not really pic.twitter.com/4YmUTtzcp7— Raghav Chopra (@AarSee) April 26, 2018
In 2015, Modi’s images started appearing in image search results for query on “Top 10 criminals in India” for which the search engine giant later apologised.
“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,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
Google said that results to the query “top 10 criminals in India” was due to a British daily which had an image of Mr. Modi and erroneous metadata. It said that in this case, the image search results were drawn from multiple news articles with images of Mr. Modi and his statements with regard to politicians with criminal background. The spokesperson added that the news articles do not link Mr. Modi to criminal activity, and the words just appeared in close proximity to each other.
(With Agency Inputs)