Google and Winston: Confusing Relationship for Sure
July 2, 2020
Computer glitches happen, even at large companies like Google. The timing of this one, though, looks a little suspicious. The Belfast Telegraph reports, “Google Says Churchill Image Missing Because of Bug in System.” The problem occurred just as the former prime minister’s statue was being walled away to protect it from protesters. Writer Martyn Landi explains:
“Winston Churchill’s image briefly disappeared from Google search results because it was being updated to be more representative of the former prime minister, the tech giant has said. However, that update had been delayed by a bug in Google’s system, the firm said in a statement. It comes after some users complained that Churchill’s image was not appearing in search results for UK prime ministers, although his name was still listed. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was among those to express ‘concern’ and said he had spoken to the tech giant over the incident, which occurred during the ongoing debate about Churchill’s statue in Parliament Square, which was boarded up last week.”
Despite the timing, Google insists the snafu had nothing to do with the statue, protestors, or the former prime minister’s alleged racism. The search platform’s Knowledge Graph had been pulling a picture of Churchill from his younger days, which is not the iconic image most of us are familiar with. Googley humans blocked that image from the algorithm, forcing it to choose another one. Between those steps, however, the mysterious “bug” halted the update. Users searching for Churchill received only portrait-free text descriptions. The company stated:
“As a result, Churchill’s entry lacked an image from late April until this weekend, when the issue was brought to our attention and resolved soon after. We apologize again for concerns caused by this issue with Sir Winston Churchill’s Knowledge Graph image. We will be working to address the underlying cause to avoid this type of issue in the future.”
Just what this bug entailed is not revealed. Sounds like a “dog ate my homework” response to us.
Cynthia Murrell, July 2, 2020
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