Google apologized for results of 'Michelle Obama' image search, but offensive videos remain

[enhanced_deficit]

After reading news today of her being heckled, made mistake of trying to search for video of Michelle Obama hackled. Big mistake. As soon the name was typed in youtoob search box, very offensive suggestions showed in top choices automatically. When searched just the name of current FLOTUS ,video with same offensive titles was at the very top with over 2mil views.
That reminded of this earlier news:

Google apologizes for results of 'Michelle Obama' image search
November 25, 2009 12:05 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
An offensive altered photo of Michelle Obama disappeared from Google search results

Google had first banned site with photo, but when picture reappeared Google let it stand
A user alerted Google to the picture via an online help forum two weeks ago
A Google ad apologizing for offensive content sometimes appeared with photo


(CNN) -- For most of the past week, when someone typed "Michelle Obama" in the popular search engine Google, one of the first images that came up was a picture of the American first lady altered to resemble a monkey.
On Wednesday morning, the racially offensive image appeared to have been removed from any Google Image searches for "Michelle Obama."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/25/google.michelle.obama.controversy-2/


But if below videos at top of search results are getting millions of views, has Gooogle now changed its policy of deleting offensive material about flotus?

Out of politeness, not linkng actual videos but this was the search query that spurred this post:
Caution: some may find search results graphic

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michelle+obama+

[alucard13mm]

First step in censoring the net. Someone post something you don't like and it is popular? Censor and remove!

[enhanced_deficit]

First step in censoring the net. Someone post something you don't like and it is popular? Censor and remove!

Whatever algorithm they are using does not seem to be just popularity based. In same search results bit down the page, another video with fewer views is above a newer video with many more views:



First Lady Michelle Obama Talks Her Firsts
8 months ago
478,341 views

Barack Obama Is A HOMOSEXUAL! And Michelle Obama Is A MAN!
7 months ago
1,758,054 views

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michelle+obama+

[Anti Federalist]

Yeah, this will turn out well...

[Matt Collins]

So Google is now in the business of deciding what is offensive and what is not?


At some point, this might could affect this concept:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carrier


I mean this wold be like the USPS refusing to ship certain (legal) literature because many people might find it offensive.

[jmdrake]

So Google is now in the business of deciding what is offensive and what is not?


At some point, this might could affect this concept:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carrier


I mean this wold be like the USPS refusing to ship certain (legal) literature because many people might find it offensive.

More like Lamar outdoor advertising refusing to carry Westboro Baptist's "God hates ****" billboards. Or refusing to place those billboards across the street from the Whitehouse. Or refusing to put stripper billboards on the way to a school.

[GunnyFreedom]

After reading news today of her being hackled, made mistake of trying to search for video of Michelle Obama hackled. Big mistake. As soon the name was typed in youtoob search box, very offensive suggestions showed in top choices automatically. When searched just the name of current FLOTUS ,video with same offensive titles was at the very top with over 2mil views.
That reminded of this earlier news:

Google apologizes for results of 'Michelle Obama' image search
November 25, 2009 12:05 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
An offensive altered photo of Michelle Obama disappeared from Google search results

Google had first banned site with photo, but when picture reappeared Google let it stand
A user alerted Google to the picture via an online help forum two weeks ago
A Google ad apologizing for offensive content sometimes appeared with photo


(CNN) -- For most of the past week, when someone typed "Michelle Obama" in the popular search engine Google, one of the first images that came up was a picture of the American first lady altered to resemble a monkey.
On Wednesday morning, the racially offensive image appeared to have been removed from any Google Image searches for "Michelle Obama."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/25/google.michelle.obama.controversy-2/


But if below videos at top of search results are getting millions of views, has Gooogle now changed its policy of deleting offensive material about flotus?

Out of politeness, not linkng actual videos but this was the search query that spurred this post:
Caution: some may find search results graphic

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michelle+obama+

Michelle Obama has feathers on her neck?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hackle


Definition of HACKLE

1
a : one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of a bird
b : the neck plumage of the domestic fowl
2
: a comb or board with long metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or jute
3
plural
a : erectile hairs along the neck and back especially of a dog
b : temper, dander <the issue raised some hackles>
4
a : an artificial fishing fly made chiefly of the filaments of a cock's neck feathers
b : filaments of cock feather projecting from the head of an artificial fly

[Wolfgang Bohringer]

Wow, this sounds a real lot like one of their classic red herring mis-direction operations.

They're drawing attention to the false Michelle is a Man meme to pollute the truth that North Clark St. bathhouse Barry is most certainly gay.

This totally parallels their birther media project where they focus everybody's attention on questioning where he was born rather than the fact that his father is Frank Davis.

A good example of this tactic on a large scale is how TV complained loudly about the "truthers" and their stories about termites in the towers while never acknowledging all of the good investigators that followed the trail of the 9/11 assassins.

I had never heard about Michelle being a Man until Google and the Gov drew my attention to it via this thread last night. After a few seconds of googling I see that Alex Jones and the rest have thrown the story into their big cauldron of poisoned truth. I knew their was something going on about Joan Rivers saying he was gay a while ago, but I didn't know she said "Michelle is a tranny" too. I saw the clip of her "sheep dipping" both stories together. Far from offing her, I'm surprised that the CIA doesn't have her on 1st tier gold card Obama-care life support as a reward for inadvertently promoting their cause.

[Matt Collins]

More like Lamar outdoor advertising refusing to carry Westboro Baptist's "God hates ****" billboards. Or refusing to place those billboards across the street from the Whitehouse. Or refusing to put stripper billboards on the way to a school.
Interesting perspective I had not considered.... not sure if I agree with it, but it sort of makes sense.... :confused:

[enhanced_deficit]

So Google is now in the business of deciding what is offensive and what is not?

At some point, this might could affect this concept:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carrier

I mean this wold be like the USPS refusing to ship certain (legal) literature because many people might find it offensive.

Google's initial response seemed similar to your view:

Google refuses to remove 'offensive and racist' Michelle Obama image

Search engine decides not to take down image of US President's wife with monkey features but instead places ad explaining its decision
http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-460/h--/q-95/sys-images/Media/Columnists/Columnists/2009/11/25/1259145223558/Google-offensive-search-r-001.jpg
Google 'offensive search results' page PR
(http://www.theguardian.com/profile/marksweney)Mark Sweney Wednesday 25 November 2009 05.38 EST

Google has refused to remove an image that depicts Michelle Obama with monkey features, but has purchased online ads apologising and explaining how its search results work.
The image, which appears as the top search result when "Michelle Obama" is entered into Google Images, has led to protests that it is offensive and racist and should be removed.
Google has decided not to remove the image but has instead opted to take out an ad (http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/021214.html), which sits above the offensive picture on the relevant Google Images web page, to explain its decision. The ad runs with the headline "An explanation of our search results" (http://www.google.com/resultsinfo.html).
The US search engine company said its policy was "not to remove a page from our search results simply because its content is unpopular or because we receive complaints concerning it".
Aware of the potential criticism over the stance, Google explained in its ad that as a search engine it was not responsible for questionable online content ranking highly on its website.
Google said that in general internet search engines are a "reflection of the content and information that is available on the internet" and that a ranking "relies heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query".

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/nov/25/google-obama-offensive-racist


But policy changed pehaps later on image search.
But on videos, it did not.. or maybe no one has brought this up with gooogl owners so far.




Michelle Obama has feathers on her neck?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hackle

Thank you lol
I'm on crutches without spellcheck.




Wow, this sounds a real lot like one of their classic red herring mis-direction operations.

... I knew their was something going on about Joan Rivers saying he was gay a while ago, but I didn't know she said "Michelle is a tranny" too. I saw the clip of her "sheep dipping" both stories together. ..

Don't know what is inside those vids or if there is any plot behind these but vids subject itself seems like fluff stuff not relevant to real issues imo. Obama's sexual orientation could possibly be a topic, like his religion or race, in some US political contexts; but question that came to my mind was somewhat conflicting search engine policies on controversial images vs videos of a high profile figure in politics.
On a trivial note, JR did make those statements about Obama/flotus before she was taken from us and it was top headline on Drudge, a natural redmeat/tabloid serving fit.

[GunnyFreedom]

And yet this image

http://getgitty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/George-W.-Bush-Chimp.jpg

Remains prominent in Google Images.

Not that I like either of these cretins, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander, right? These people weren't complaining when they did it to Bush. Most of them were probably cheering. So while I strongly oppose "monkey-mocking" or whatever, I find it awfully difficult to sympathize. Particularly when they remove things offensive to Dems but leave things up that are offensive to Reps.

[Lucille]

Comparing either of them to monkeys is an insult to monkeys. The apology should go to the monkeys, and not that hideous hateful woman.

[idiom]

So Google is now in the business of deciding what is offensive and what is not?


At some point, this might could affect this concept:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carrier


I mean this wold be like the USPS refusing to ship certain (legal) literature because many people might find it offensive.

If your customers find it offensive, then you had better not do it.

[euphemia]

This might be a contrived controversy created for the purpose of giving a reason for censorship.

[limequat]

Except Michelle is black.


And yet this image

http://getgitty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/George-W.-Bush-Chimp.jpg

Remains prominent in Google Images.

Not that I like either of these cretins, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander, right? These people weren't complaining when they did it to Bush. Most of them were probably cheering. So while I strongly oppose "monkey-mocking" or whatever, I find it awfully difficult to sympathize. Particularly when they remove things offensive to Dems but leave things up that are offensive to Reps.