Google Apologises Over Offensive Baftas News Alert
Google has issued an apology after a news alert linked to this year’s BAFTA ceremony included a “see more” prompt that referenced a racial slur.
The notification, sent via Google News, related to reports on fallout from the awards ceremony, during which a member of the audience with Tourette’s syndrome uttered the slur as an involuntary tic while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage.
In a statement to the BBC, a Google spokesperson said the company was “deeply sorry” for the alert, adding that it had been removed and steps were being taken to ensure a similar incident does not happen again.
Google said claims that the wording was generated by artificial intelligence were incorrect. Instead, the company explained that the alert resulted from a failure in its safety systems for push notifications. According to Google, its content-recognition tools detected the repeated use of the term across online coverage and mistakenly used it to describe the story being promoted.
The company acknowledged that its safeguards should have prevented the language from appearing in a notification and said it is now strengthening safety triggers and guardrails.
Google added that the alert was visible to only a small number of users and was taken down quickly. Google News remains one of the most widely downloaded news apps in the United States.
The issue was first highlighted on social media by content creator Danny Price, who criticised the alert during Black History Month in the US.
Organisers of the BAFTAs, along with the BBC, which broadcast the ceremony, have previously apologised for the use of racist language during the event and said it had been removed from official coverage.
