Post by Joanna on May 20, 2015 18:43:30 GMT -5
Google Maps Accused of Racial Slurs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Google apologized after users reported typing a racial slur into Google Maps causes the website to zoom in on the White House in Washington, D.C. Users of the map program said searching for the word "nigger" along with the word "house" caused Google Maps to bring up a zoomed-in map of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, and searches conducted from multiple geographical locations had the same result. Some users reported getting the same result using the alternate spelling, i.e., "nigga."
"Some inappropriate results are surfacing in Google Maps that should not be and we apologize for any offense this may have caused," a Google representative told The Washington Post. "Our teams are working to fix this issue quickly."
Bomani Buckhalter, who posted a screenshot of his search results to Twitter, said some friends in other locations reported the search came back with different results. "It is location based, so [for] some of the students that are not currently in D.C., the search result was different. However, even if you're not in D.C., ‘nigga house Washington D.C.' shows the same result," Buckhalter said.
Google Maps allows users to make alterations with its Map Maker software. However, the feature was recently suspended following acts of vandalism including a map of Pakistan altered to show an image of the Android logo pissing on an Apple logo. "We are temporarily disabling editing on Map Maker starting today," product manager Pavithra Kanakarajan said in a message to users, "while we continue to work towards making the moderation system more robust."
Source: Ben Hooper, UPI, May 20, 2015.
