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Google Apologizes For "Michelle Obama" Results
theodp writes "CNN reports that for most of the past week, when someone did a Google image search for 'Michelle Obama,' one of the first images that came up was a picture of the First Lady altered to resemble a monkey. After being hit with a firestorm of criticism over the episode, Google first banned the site that posted the photo, saying it could spread malware. Then, when the image appeared on another site, Google displayed the photo in its search results, but displayed an apologetic Google ad above it. On Wednesday morning, the racially offensive image appeared to have been removed from any Google Image searches for 'Michelle Obama.' Google officials could not immediately be reached for comment."
Update — 15:38 GMT by SS: A reader pointed out that this article from the Guardian says the image was de-listed simply because it was removed from the blog where it was hosted rather than by any "deliberate" action from Google.
anti-hate-speech laws are immoral.
Sorry, no. There are laws against violence, and this is a good thing, don't you think? Hate-speech is verbal violence and thus there must be laws against it.
Laws of course need to be well-balanced, restrict only the minimum that needs to be restricted to get the wanted result.
Google have used their power to take an active part in censorship, both in this case and in plenty of cases before.
Refusing to listen to someone who is talking is not censorship. Google just stopped broadcasting a soapbox-speech to the world. The soapbox still is there and the person on it still can express hirs opinion freely. That is not censorship.
No matter what your opinion of obama or the picture it falls under the freedom of speech clause of the Constitution. I may have to read and listen to liberal global warming BS, but i do not complain about their right to open their out and spew it, just about the junk science. I read tons of post about censorship in China well where are those same voices now?
Now, how many times has /.done the same without us even knowing?? Back when /. first started I thought it was completely above board in the past several year you do see a distinct left sided view being promoted.
Oh, just stop it. Obama was by far the best candidate, and should have gotten 70% of the total vote if the election was based on merit. The fact that so many white people preferred to vote for a decrepit corrupt old fool, part of a mafia that had already ruined the country and broken the middle class... out of fear for a "black" president? that is racism.
Obama, to remind the fools here, is mixed blood, like everyone else on the planet. Race is a theory based on a lie. Skin color is a cosmetic.
Maybe the idea that African Americans just voted more sensibly is so shocking that you have to turn this into "racism"?
Go. Away.