On August 23, a Twitter user posted a screenshot of a quick Google search she made for the word ‘militant’, and she was surprised to find a “racist” cartoon to be part of it. Now, the illustration has caused an outrage amongst netizens and Google has supposedly taken down the image.
Sana Saeed, @sanasaeed, tweeted: “So I was googling the word ‘militant’ for some purpose, when uhhhhhh what in the racist…?”
According to the post, Google shows a caricature sporting a turban, beard, and a gun, once the word ‘militant’ is searched.
Asking fellow netizens to take action, Saeed urged them to report the image as “offensive/inappropriate".
Soon after her posts gained attention, netizens commented on the issue and expressed their dismay, calling the illustration “racist” and “stereotypical”.
Twitter user @ViratAbdul wrote: “Islamophobia in tech industry is alarming! Just Google search with keyword ‘militant’ and notice the photo depiction is more than racist, it's low-level, continuous, subtle brainwashing …. Click on *Feedback* link at bottom right to report!”
Tweep @AmalOs_ wrote: “Done, this is crazy, they know what they are doing…”
Giving an update, Saeed posted on August 24: “Update! Image was removed. (Let me know below if it’s the same for you).”
Upon searching for the word, Google seems to no longer display the image. However, the tech giant has not commented on the issue.
