This post contains language some may find offensive.
I guess it’s the trendy thing to mess with Google Maps these days.
Google has apologized and fixed what appears to be some third-party shenanigans that pointed users to the White House when racist searches were made.
According to the Washington Post, if you typed “nigger house” or “nigger king” into the search function on Google Maps, Google would point you in the direction of the White House.
As soon as Google was notified of this, it sprung into action.
“Some inappropriate results are surfacing in Google Maps that should not be, and we apologize for any offense this may have caused. Our teams are working to fix this issue quickly,” said the company in a statement.
Google has since fixed the issues, but this GIF from the Washington Post shows what happened when you searched a phrase like “nigger king”:
Last week, Google temporarily suspended Map Maker due to a series of “pranks” executed on the platform.
“We are temporarily disabling editing on Map Maker starting today, while we continue to work towards making the moderation system more robust. We thank each one of you who responded to us with your support and thoughtful suggestions on how to resolve this situation. We are considering all options that will help us turn on editing as soon as possible, and we will keep you posted on the progress we make,” said Map Maker Product Manager Pavithra Kanakarajan.
Last month, pranksters put “Edwards Snow Den” inside the White House. Before that, someone put an Android robot pissing on an Apple logo near Pakistan.
Of course, unlike this most recent “prank” involving the White House, those enjoy the benefit of actually being funny.
Image via Cezary p, Wikimedia Commons
