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Those who use Google Trends were on the receiving end of a pretty ugly tasteless Web stunt on Tuesday: the second most popular item in the "Hot Trends" category was an image of an airplane flying into the twin towers.
"Hot Trends" is meant to track the fastest rising searches at any given moment; the prevailing theory, among search experts, is that the stunt was accomplished using "bots" to garner a huge number of hits, catapulting it onto the list. However, it did start with a user on eBaum's World, who suggested to his fellow forum dwellers the stunt to launch it onto Google Trends.
Despite this being the third time that Google Trends has been snaked in recent months (in July, a swastika appeared on Hot Trends), the company had little to say about the incident. "Hot Trends is automatically generated by algorithms and machines that are there to detect hot or breaking queries," said Gabriel Stricker, a Google spokesman. "We saw lots of queries from a number of different places in a short period of time." [From: New York Times via Buzzfeed]
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Comments
34
Subscribe to commentsKCJan 7th 2009 4:59PM
Oh please...someone needs to get a life ! I can't believe someone would look @ that & thought 9-11 !!!!
Pedro LotarioJan 7th 2009 5:21PM
Google including a swastika in the internet is not just a mistake, it is an intentional affront, to put it mildly. And now there is another mistake of showing an airplane flying into the Twin Towers!! I think there are some sickos working at Google, and unless Google does something to clean their act, they will be cleaned right out of a very profitable business. Both "errors" are very offensive. A lot of innocent people died by the acts of cruel individuals.
galenJan 7th 2009 7:35PM
It's not Google's fault. These images are out there on the internet. Google can't really help that, and if they stopped showing those images in their searches, it would be seen as trying to hide the memories of those events/acts from the world. Just because somebody played a prank doesn't mean you should blame Google.
DanaJan 8th 2009 12:01AM
Uh..Google didn't "do" anything offensive. The idiots who think it's "cool" to interject their "genius" into something completely innocent is what's offensive. Oh..and your idiotic logic is too.
sirjames8Jan 8th 2009 3:30AM
Pedro, There are far too many things on the net for Google to keep track of things on purpose, even if they had 100,000 employees. With 100,000 employees they couldn't make a profit! I doubt that they have more than 1,500 if even 1,000. If someone at google had done it on purpose they would have been able to track it far more easily than they followed it back to the guy on ebaum's world.
RobuytoJan 7th 2009 5:22PM
"We will never forget" thats sending such a bad message. Grudges give you cancer you know. gotta keep moving.
chrissyJan 7th 2009 5:39PM
We, Americans Will Never Forget what happened on 9-11, what happened to the victims and the brave nypd and nyfd who gave thier lives trying to save people. If you Can forget then there is something seriously wrong with you. Where were you on 9-11, I am sure that you do remember if you have any brain cells remaining. I was in NY and that was the single worst day any new yorker or american has ever faced. By the way, grudges do not give you cancer!
BetsyJan 7th 2009 6:22PM
Your comment was despicable. Although you probably had no one you knew in the WTC who died that day, I did. My very best friend was killed at Cantor Fitzgerald along with the entire firm. You may not remember, but I, certainly, will NEVER FORGET!!
Just MeJan 7th 2009 8:36PM
Rob..."Never Forget" is IMPORTANT. It is BECAUSE people ARE forgetting that terrifying day of 9/11 that history could very well repeat itself in another form...we must NOT forget, if we let our guard down, the terrorists will surely win. It's okay not to forget...and I can assure you, it's not going to give a person "cancer." Dwelling on it daily isn't good for you, of course, but NOT being "passive" but being watchful for possible terrorism (like the government has warned us...via Homeland Security) is VERY important. This isn't something that's going away, ya know. Your kind of thinking is not only bad for the country as a whole, but a slap in the face to the thousands of people who died on that day. Please watch what you say because those who have lost a loved one on that day will surely be reading this blog...and it's NOT the message you would want to send them.
RobJan 8th 2009 10:11AM
Respectful answer. Sorry for your losses.
Serge A. StormsJan 7th 2009 5:59PM
I'd like to see some proof that a forum caused this. It's nice to point fingers and throw blame around, without anything to back it up.
DavidJan 7th 2009 6:04PM
it was 4chan
LegendzJan 9th 2009 3:27AM
You must not think guys really? I mean seriously?! 9/11 was a tragic accident yes, people were lost yes. But people will always die in tragic ways. Forcing people to feel guilty is not how it should be remembered it is a persons self initiative to remember that day. A lot of people didn't lose someone on that day so it has no signifigance to them. History will always repeat iself, I want this to be known. There is no way to stop history from repeating itself, it will always be done in some way or fashion 9/11 will occur just perhaps not in the exact same way.
Just so you guys know it's NOT GOOGLE's fault. A couple guy made a bot which would go to random IP's and search this term making it a HOT item, bringing it to the top. It's not google is sick fuckers with no life.
Friedrich NietzscheJan 7th 2009 6:06PM
they are just symbols. how could anybody possibly be offended by this? people need to grow up
AnonJan 7th 2009 6:08PM
You want proof? Do you know how easy it is to do this??? It was in no part googles fault neither was the swastika! It's people like you that give america a bad name.
AdamJan 7th 2009 8:34PM
Why does this matter again? The reason that these things were put up on the site was to get a rise out of people. By being offended, you're playing right into their trap.
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
David DavidsonJan 7th 2009 7:19PM
EBAUMS DID IT!!!!111!!!1
SusanJan 7th 2009 7:21PM
Look Google is every where you hear it refered to daily on tv,work and movies mistakes happen and some of us do need to be reminded of 911.And if u want to speak up against 911 jerks go to utube cause there u will find ppl claiming it never happened that Bush did itwas aliens to name a few there is even this kid who made a remix using the sound of bodies hitting the ground so be outrage by them not a launch site please.
Sui JurisJan 7th 2009 10:24PM
I pray that every American and other nations remember the events of 911/ and know the truth who allowed it to happen. I pray to god that those that are responsible be tried and convicted ie: The Bush Administration, Rumsfeild, Cheney and Bush and many others.
The next few years will be the most trying for all of us.
K.L. AynedterJan 7th 2009 10:25PM
If and when Americans wake up to the truth of what has been happening for the last 100+ years (do the research) maybe then and only then will we prove to the world we deserve the Freedoms we claim to have and live by.as Goethe said " None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free,"