Google results showed ‘troubling’ definition of Jew. Now faith leaders demand answers
Google received a barrage of questions and criticism after a derogatory and antisemitic stereotype popped up on the search engine as the definition of “Jew.”
The company apologized and fixed the definition, but faith leaders are demanding an explanation on how it appeared at all.
McClatchy News reached out to Google for comment and is awaiting a response.
Twitter users caught wind of the definition on Dec. 27, which had an “offensive” tag on the word when searched, according to photos.
Deeply troubling that @Google artificial intelligence fails to recognize obvious antisemitic hate speech in featured search results for the term ‘Jew’.
We expect corrective action to be taken immediately. pic.twitter.com/hAvFsviBz5— World Jewish Congress (@WorldJewishCong) December 27, 2022
The World Jewish Congress called it “deeply troubling that Google artificial intelligence fails to recognize obvious antisemitic hate speech in featured search results for the term ‘Jew’.”
Other organizations, including Christians United for Israel, The Jewish Voice, Stop Antisemitism and the Center for Jewish Impact, spoke out about the derogatory definition.
“Another jarring example of how antisemitism is being normalized daily. @Google, and all of big tech, need to be proactive in ensuring their platforms are not used to spread the world’s oldest hatred.” https://t.co/8d3BMgTOZA
— Christians United for Israel (@CUFI) December 27, 2022
Google apologizes for the highly offensive definition of a Jew that they had posted. @Google #jew #definition pic.twitter.com/oX62UoJws2
— The Jewish Voice (@JewishVoice) December 27, 2022
Hey @Google, there is no reason for the default definition of #Jew to be a verb, let alone an outdated and offensive antisemitic slur. We hope to see you fix this ASAP. pic.twitter.com/LfOiHVMk8o
— Center for Jewish Impact (@JewishImpact) December 27, 2022
When one enters “jew” into the Google search engine, a grotesque antisemitic trope comes up.
This is in unacceptable @Google pic.twitter.com/zuYkUy2ssO— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 27, 2022
“Jew hatred has gone completely mainstream. Disgusting,” Brooke Goldstein, a civil rights lawyer, wrote while sharing the definition on Twitter.
Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind also pressed Google for answers.
“There’s NO good excuse for such an org to casually feature Jew-hatred in its search results,” Hikind said on Twitter. “We demand accountability.”
Google apologized to several Twitter users for the troubling definition and said its definitions come from “third-party dictionary experts.”
Our apologies. Google licenses definitions from third-party dictionary experts. We only display offensive definitions by default if they are the main meaning of a term. As this is not the case here, we have blocked this & passed along feedback to the partner for further review.
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) December 27, 2022
“We only display offensive definitions by default if they are the main meaning of a term,” Google Search Liaison said in a statement on Twitter. “As this is not the case here, we have blocked this & passed along feedback to the partner for further review.”
It is not clear which third-party dictionary expert may have provided the definition to Google.
Once the definition was fixed, Hikind thanked his followers for bringing the remedy to his attention — but he wasn’t ready to let Google off the hook.
“I’m aware they updated it, but the demand for answers and accountability still stands,” he said on Twitter.
Other controversies tied to antisemitism have recently garnered headlines, including a crossword puzzle from The New York Times that some said resembled a swastika published on the first night of Hanukkah.
The New York Times told several news outlets the crossword design was common with “many open grids in crosswords have a similar spiral pattern because of the rules around rotational symmetry and black squares.”
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