Ever since Google was launched, lives of many people became easy. You type anything on Google and the results are mostly accurate, at least the first few ones. But that’s not always the case, as noted by some Twitter users. If you type ‘India First PM’, Google shows an accurate result with Jawaharlal Nehru’s name, in bold and big letters along with a brief description of Nehru, appearing on the Wikipedia link ‘List of Prime Ministers of India’. So far, no glitch but the twist comes in the form of the image, alongside Nehru’s name. It is that of the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In what seems to be a technical quirk, going by the tweets the oddity was first noticed on Wednesday. When it got highlighted, many Twitter users started posting their reactions along with the screenshots and asked variants of the question – Why?
Here are Some Sample Tweets that Followed
The first user who highlighted this query
When we search "India first PM" on Google, Narendra Modi image appears. Why?
— I_am (@thenagawalrus) April 25, 2018
One user suggested it was a conspiracy
Type 'India first pm' in google and result is Mr.Narendra Modi's photo instead of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. @Google Pls correct it.. How come you also fell in the trap of Mr.Modi? pic.twitter.com/H8zlP9zzW0
— Ashok Tanwar (@AshokTanwar_INC) April 25, 2018
Someone said Google is full of junk
.@Google @GoogleIndia what algorithm of yours allows this?! You’re so full of junk- pic.twitter.com/GHyxh3fEWm
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) April 25, 2018
One user said it was a Google error
Oops
Is this Google error?
Has Nehru been generous to Modi let him use name and title of First PM?
Has BJP playing a prank? @AskAnshul @India_Policy @ShefVaidya @malviyamit @sambitswaraj @swamy39 @dr_satyapal @rsprasad @tavleen_singh @bhupendrachaube @Shehzad_Ind @dpradhanbjp pic.twitter.com/zzEPod9zFi
— Anthony Saldanha (@AnthonySald) April 25, 2018
While Google has not yet responded to any of these questions, one reason could be a technological error that showcases the first image of Narendra Modi on the Wikipedia page of the ‘List of Prime Ministers of India’. However, upon opening the link, it clearly states that Narendra Modi ‘is the current (14th) Prime Minister of India, since 26 May 2014’.
Here’s a tweet that explains it
Sigh..
1. Google is serving up a Wikipedia page on the topic, "List of Prime Ministers of India - Wikipedia"
2. The first image on the Wikipedia page is of Narendra Modi, PM.
3. When displayed on a narrow screen, the image comes up first.
Can the lady NOT understand this? https://t.co/wuQqMCbWx4
— Abhinav Agarwal (@AbhinavAgarwal) April 25, 2018
However, it doesn't look like a technical glitch to us. When you type 'US First President' on Google, it rightly shows the name of 'George Washington'. It also rightly mentions the name of Rajendra Prasad, when you type 'India First President'. The names and the images of these two search results are accurate.
Screenshot of Google Search of 'US First President'
Screenshot of Google Search of 'India First President'
This has definitely raised our eyebrows on why Narendra Modi's image appears when we search for 'India First PM'. While Twitterati did not hold back their views on the search engine’s algorithm and some even suggested it was a conspiracy. Well, we hope that Google responds to this error and explains the reason behind this technical error.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2018 10:49 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).