Google results for the phrase “UK prime ministers” temporarily lacked a picture for Winston Churchill.
People took to Twitter over the weekend to question why the conservative prime minister’s picture was missing while photos of other leaders still appeared. The disappearance was noticed amid calls from Black Lives Matter activists for the removal of a statue of Churchill in London.
Had to check this for myself…according to Google all pics of Churchill have been wiped from the earth… pic.twitter.com/WEgupeUub1
— Devin Nunes (@DevinNunes) June 14, 2020
What’s going on, @Google?
Why no image of Winston Churchill when you search for British prime ministers, and why no mention of his 1940-45 term?
h/t @SuzanneEvans1 pic.twitter.com/u4FShHD1YT
— Matt Ridley (@mattwridley) June 14, 2020
Google “British prime ministers”.
Winston Churchill’s picture has been removed from search carousel, entire entry removed for 1940-45. pic.twitter.com/4qOque8aPF
— Ben Hunt (@EpsilonTheory) June 14, 2020
Churchill’s picture reappeared in Google search results by Sunday, and Google released a statement on the matter, saying the temporary disappearance was not intentional.
“We’re aware an image for Sir Winston Churchill is missing from his Knowledge Graph entry on Google. We apologise for any concern. This was not purposeful & will be resolved. Images in such panels are automatically created & updated. During an update, they can briefly disappear,” Google said in a statement posted to Twitter.
If a Knowledge Graph image is missing due to an update, the subject will be named but lack an image in anything automatically generated from the Knowledge Graph. This is why Churchill’s image (but not his name) is missing from some lists. It is temporary & will be resolved….
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 14, 2020
“If a Knowledge Graph image is missing due to an update, the subject will be named but lack an image in anything automatically generated from the Knowledge Graph. This is why Churchill’s image (but not his name) is missing from some lists. It is temporary & will be resolved,” it continued.
The company also addressed concerns that Churchill’s first term as prime minister also did not appear when people searched for under “UK prime ministers.”
Some have noted that Churchill’s first term does not appear for a search on UK prime ministers that shows an automatically generated Knowledge Graph list. This is not specific to Churchill; a similar thing happens with Wilson, MacDonald and Baldwin….
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 14, 2020
“We’re exploring why the first terms for Churchill, Wilson, MacDonald & Baldwin are not shown. It might be that our systems are only displaying the last term of prime ministers who had non-consecutive terms. We’ll seek to address this to avoid any unintentional concern,” Google noted.
We don’t have an exact time for when Churchill’s Knowledge Graph image will be restored, but it will be as rapidly done as possible. We’ll want to explore exactly why an automatic update caused it to disappear & see if there are any improvements in those systems to address….
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 14, 2020
Protesters in the United Kingdom have called for Churchill’s statue to be removed over claims that he was racist. Black Lives Matter demonstrators, far-right protesters, and police clashed Saturday, according to the Daily Mail, over his memorial, prompting the city to enact a 5 p.m. curfew and riot police to patrol the streets.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded to the protests by denouncing all racism, as well as attacks on police.
“Racist thuggery has no place on our streets. Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of the law. These marches & protests have been subverted by violence and breach current guidelines. Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to make that a reality,” he tweeted.
Racist thuggery has no place on our streets. Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of the law. These marches & protests have been subverted by violence and breach current guidelines. Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to make that a reality.
— Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 13, 2020
