Offensive Michelle Obama Image Returns, Google Buys Ad To Explain

Google is buying ads to explain why an offensive image of the First Lady is back in its index and ranking so highly on searches for Michelle Obama in Google Image Search.

As we reported last week, Google had originally removed the Michelle Obama image on the grounds that the site hosting the image violated Google’s guidelines by serving malware to visitors. But the same image remained available on other sites that hadn’t run afoul of the rules.

Google’s ad, shown above, leads searchers to http://www.google.com/resultsinfo.html, which apologizes to users who’ve “had an upsetting experience using Google,” and explains the company’s policy on offensive content:

“Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google.

Search engines are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the Internet. A site’s ranking in Google’s search results relies heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page’s relevance to a given query.

The beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google, as well as the opinions of the general public, do not determine or impact our search results.”

Note that if you don’t see the image, you may have your “SafeSearch” settings switched to off. Oddly, it only appears when you use the Moderate or Strict SafeSearch options. Look for your settings underneath the search box.

As Barry Schwartz points out on Search Engine Roundtable, Google runs a similar ad in its main search index on the query jew.

And, in 2006, Google also bought ads to explain why George Bush’s page on whitehouse.gov ranked first for “miserable failure”:

See Danny Sullivan’s Google Kills Bush’s Miserable Failure Search & Other Google Bombs for more on how Google eventually changed its algorithm to remove whitehouse.gov from the top spot on that search term.

For now, at least, there’s no such algorithmic change in place for the Michelle Obama image search result.

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Matt McGee

Matt McGee is the Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. After leaving traditional media in the mid-1990s, he began developing and marketing websites and continued to provide consulting services for more than 15 years. His SEO and social media clients ranged from mom-and-pop small businesses to one of the Top 5 online retailers. Matt is a longtime speaker at marketing events around the U.S., including keynote and panelist roles. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. You can reach Matt via email using our Contact page.