On Wednesday, Narendra Modi received an apology from Google. The U.S. tech giant said it was sorry for "any confusion or misunderstanding" caused by the Indian prime minister's inclusion in the image search results for the query "top 10 criminals."
"These results trouble us and are not reflective of the opinions of Google," the company said in a statement released Wednesday night, according to the Hindu newspaper.
Modi's appearance at the top of the image search results for "top 10 criminals" and "top 10 criminals in India" had sparked controversy in India earlier in the day, with outrage spreading across social media. His face appears in images next to infamous figures such as American gangster Al Capone and the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.
Google images.... #Modi pic.twitter.com/sQsQWAXgf4
— R D J (@AR3661) June 3, 2015
When I googled "10 Top Criminals", I found PM Modi's pics along with Laden, etc. Google must b SUED. #Top10Criminals
pic.twitter.com/lgD6J9uaCG
— Suvie Ritu Chandra (@SuvalagnaC) June 3, 2015
Can't believe that a person looking like N.D Modi is included in Google's top 10 criminals! Is this for real Bhakts? pic.twitter.com/v6FoE8yLSi
— Kerala PCC (@KeralaPCC1) June 3, 2015
India's PM Narendra Modi among top 10 criminals on Google Search, details now in 9pm bulletin pic.twitter.com/MldrWnVKrQ
— JAAG TV (@JaagAlerts) June 3, 2015
The search result spawned national coverage and a hashtag on Twitter, #top10criminals, which resulted in more than 18,000 tweets on Wednesday alone and became the top trending topic on Twitter.
Hey @google the Indian Prime Min listed in #Top10Criminals really? Time u changed ur algorithm,this is just so wrong. pic.twitter.com/ivhP7PdxVP
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) June 3, 2015
One year Back, he said all MPs with criminal charges will be behind bars. Now after one year he is appearing in #Top10Criminals list !!!
— Vinod Mehta (@DrunkVinodMehta) June 3, 2015
Mr Modi deserves better than being treated so shabbily by the world's most reliable search engine. #Top10Criminals https://t.co/Zq6RcGSGV9
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) June 3, 2015
We all know what past Narendra Modi has but whether we like it or not, he's PM of this country. #Top10Criminals
— Parikshit Shah (@imparixit) June 3, 2015
Contrast!!!! Manmohan Singh appears in list of economist, Modi in list of #Top10Criminals pic.twitter.com/FrRa8HM4Gb
— #GràciesXavi (@Scepticindian) June 3, 2015
Although some critics of Modi, who was elected last year, implied that the prime minister deserved the label because of controversial moments in his past (he was the leader of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when riots there killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims), others felt — despite their opposition to Modi — it was unfair.
As Google's apology notes, however, the inclusion of Modi in the search results wasn't a conscious decision on the part of the company. In fact, it doesn't appear to be a conscious decision by anyone. Here's how Pranav Dixit of the Hindustan Times explains what happened:
In 2014, The Telegraph, one of the biggest newspapers in the UK, published an article headlined: "Top Indian Educationalist Accused of racism over portrayal of criminal 'negroes'" with a lead image of Narendra Modi. The image's metadata — background information associated with an image that gives a search engine an idea of what it is — contained the following text: "India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Top Indian educationalist accused of racism over portrayal of criminal 'negroes'" This particular bit of metadata — literally because the words "Modi" and "criminal" appeared so close to each other — is why the Prime Minister's photo appears when you type top 10 criminals into Google Image Search.
In its statement, Google confirmed that metadata was behind Modi's inclusion on the list. "Sometimes, the way images are described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries," the company's statement reads. "We apologise for any confusion or misunderstanding this has caused. We’re continually working to improve our algorithms to prevent unexpected results like this."
So far, the U.S. tech giant has resisted calls to remove Modi's image from the search results, though it appears to have added a note to the top of the results that disavows any political message behind the images that appear.
The outrage may actually have backfired for Modi's supporters, however: Further down the search results for "top 10 criminals" are pictures of Modi from news outlets covering the search results and Google's apology. Plus, as a result of an agreement with Twitter earlier this year, Google now indexes tweets, too. Those hoping to remove Modi's images from the "top 10 criminals" search results may have just ensured that they stay there.
