LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) An international frenzy was unleashed when a Hot Girls blog originating in China published a photoshopped Michelle Obama portrayed as an ape. As of today, the photo is down, not because Google blocked it from the search index, but because the webmaster of the site removed it. The site now shows innocuous news photos of the First Lady, and also features an ad for the new Sarah Palin book.
Typical Google Blogger Logo
The blog published statements in Chinese and English. The English statement is as follows:
I am very sorry for this article, and that this is the program automatically issued a document from the article. Do not the subject of race and politics make the discussion too radical and sincere hope that the world is very peaceful.
A typical search for images of Michelle Obama brought up the photo as the first result. Google was requested to take down the image, but, with no webmaster violations from the site, was not obligated to do so, and did not. As Google spokesman Scott Rubin explained in a statement, “We have, in general, a bias toward free speech.”
While the photo still came up in searches, Google took out ad space next to the result acknowledging search results may be offensive and explaining why the image was not removed. Over the days it was available, bloggers and media from the world over had their say. Some found it funny, others offensive. The Toronto Star, among many others, described it as “racist”.
Mocking political and celebrity figures with a photoshopped ape face is not new. In fact, an entire website is dedicated to such photos. The site has put an ape face on political, sports and entertainment figures, with archives going back to 2007. The site’s author posts the celebrity ape photo, with a sentence or two, often insulting, about the person’s blog, latest movie or accomplishment. Who creates the site, and why, is not known, though humor plus social commentary seems to be the goal.
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Laura spent years as a Hollywood story analyst, did a big 180, and is now an entrepreneur focused on web marketing and analytics. She's also a mom of one.Laura Glendinning article archive.
