Google users took to Twitter after finding out that Google "Direct Answers" is anti-semitic based on the response they get to the question: "Who runs Hollywood?" When users pose a question in the search engine, the "direct answers" service utilizes an infobox to share information from websites to answer them. This service took a shocking turn when users found that if you ask "who runs Hollywood," the service's strongest response will be "Jews," according to the United Press International.
The infobox in question provided a link to a July 2014 article from the New Observer, which according to the website's About Us page, "is a free and independent news service designed to present current affairs without the spin of the controlled media."
uhhhhh hey google you might wanna check your algorithm pic.twitter.com/vc0KSKK9LZ
— Josh Fruhlinger (@jfruh) September 4, 2015
Evidence suggests that this isn't the result of a "Googlebomb," where a group of sites make a combined effort to alter the results for a particular term for either hits or for trolling purposes. Instead, the results appear organic since the other top results of the search all say that either "Jews," "the Illuminati" or "gay Jews" run Hollywood, according to The Guardian.
It's likely Google's page-rank algorithm gave the article a high rank due to the amount of links to the site from other users.
Upon being questioned about the news, a Google represenative said, "We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google."
As of 11:30 a.m. the "Jews" answer has been removed, replaced by a slew of websites poking fun at Google's epic blunder.
