Why do jews get special treatment on google?

[nectar_pepsi]

If you seach the word 'jew' on google you will notice that they have gone to the trouble of adding a special notice, apologising if anyone is offended by the search results (links to anti-semitic websites, etc.).

Are there any other words given this special treatment?

[drshorty]

I wasn't aware of this until you asked this question, but when I clicked on the link and read between the lines a little bit, it appears that people have been complaining that some anti-Semitic websites come up for that search term. Maybe people don't complain about the Google results when other topics are searched.

[Rabbit]

That is very interesting, and it just makes me like Google even more. 1. Because they don't censor our results even if it may offend an entire race of people 2. Because they took the time to explain their position instead of appearing indifferent. Here's a piece of the explanation:
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"If you use Google to search for "Judaism," "Jewish" or "Jewish people," the results are informative and relevant. So why is a search for "Jew" different? One reason is that the word "Jew" is often used in an anti-Semitic context. Jewish organizations are more likely to use the word "Jewish" when talking about members of their faith. The word has become somewhat charged linguistically, as noted on websites devoted to Jewish topics such as these:

http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/vol01/vol01.174
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah081500.asp

Someone searching for information on Jewish people would be more likely to enter terms like "Judaism," "Jewish people," or "Jews" than the single word "Jew." In fact, prior to this incident, the word "Jew" only appeared about once in every 10 million search queries. Now it's likely that the great majority of searches on Google for "Jew" are by people who have heard about this issue and want to see the results for themselves."
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The explanation makes sense to me, and it turns out it's correct, because the asker obviously holds Anti-Semitic beliefs and actually was searching for "Jew" instead if "Jewish" or "Judaism".

[Steps]

Rabbit is exactly right, accept she just copied that straight from Google themselves. Anyway, she is right Jew is more of an offensive term.

[ayup me ole china]

Very good point that you have brought up! And to answer your question, NO, other words do not appear to have the same treatment and I say this because of the URL that Google has used...
http://www.google.com/explanation.html
That is why I think not. The URL is not structured in a way to incorporate other words... For example, I would of said there is a possibility of other words also if the URL looked more like this:
http://www.google.com/explanation/word-in-question.html
But no, they just use http://www.google.com/explanation.html!!!
Which from my POV, being a Search Engine Optimisation Manager is pretty funny, because now if you search for "explanation" - THAT specifc pages is a top result.

It is my PERSONAL opionion that it is a bit naff of Google just that use that URL... So yes, it may show that they are impartial to the search terms shown (which is BS by the way, but I'll come back to this), but I think it is a bit wrong that they are doing it for THIS word and not others... of which there are many.

Maybe Google has *personal* reasons for this? Ya know... a fat cat at the top of the food chain at Google whom is Jewish.

And before I go on, I'd just like to clarify I am NOT anti Jewish or any religion for that matter... although I am anti some people.

Oh... and by no means am I anti-Google. I lurveeee the Google, hehe. *ahem*. No wait.. not joking, I really do love Google - It's the best thing since sliced bread... well it is in my eyes.

Anyhooo, back to the BS I mentioned several paragraphs back. Now, here is obviously a shocker for some of you and you can have this varified by any other SEO expert:

Google DOES... I repeat... GOOGLE DOES manipulate search results:
http://www.pronetadvertising.com/article...oogle.html
That example is of John Chow whom got black listed... Yep he can't even rank for "John Chow" these days. Against Google TOC, he crossed the line somewhere and they lashed out and black listed him from search results.

More recently, Forbes.com was hit by Google and Google PageRank had been taken away from them due to "selling links".

Also, bearing in mind Google own YouTube... did anyone notice how just a few months after the buy out, YouTube videos started appearing in Google natural search results.

... but still, at the end of the day, they still return the results I want to see for my sites and they are just generally a COOL company which spawned from nowhere, had taken on Yahoo! & MSN and won. Just look at their share price in comparison for example, jessh. >.< However, all big giants fall down one day, it is just a matter of time.

Regards
John

[Juggling Frogs]

I didn't know about this, but you're right. That notice comes up for "Jew" but not for a few "popular" hate words I tried.

My first thought was that this must be because a number of people complained, and if others had complained, other words would get the same treatment. Maybe so.

But on second thought, I realized that the word "Jew" *is* different, and warrants different treatment.

If you type the "n-word" in the search engine, you're searching for something you expect to be offensive. If you type "kike" in the search engine, you're expecting to find references to hate speech.

If you type "Jew" in the search engine, you could be looking for legitimate Jewish sites, or you could be looking for information about the word as it is used for hate speech (as either a fan or foe of hate speech.)

There are so many hateful websites that use "Jew", that the non-hateful, legitimate sites can be difficult to find.

So, I think Google, whose mission is to provide useful search information, is trying to help sort it all out for us. (pun unintentional)

I think this notice speaks for Google's integrity (not to muck with the search results, no matter how offensive) and their sensitivity (to publicly disassociate themselves with the offensive material).

Kudos to Google for working it out this way.

[593]

Ten or so years ago, search engines weren't so good at evaluating site content. They just put up whatever they found, more or less. If you included 'Jew' in a search string back then, you would get page after page after page of anti-Semitic and neo-nazi sites. You just couldn't do an effective search on 'Jews during the Holocaust', 'When a Jew Prays' or **anything** involving the word 'Jew'. It was both frustrating and frightening.

Google eventually put up that disclaimer.

We take it for granted now, but search engines have become unbelievably sophisticated in a short stretch of time. Search results including the word 'Jew' are ok now, but Google still keeps that disclaimer on the side.

[Taylor L]

you call censoring offensive sites giving special treatment? hello, thats NORMAL. Previously, when one type the word "jew" ino google an extremely anitsemetic site was number one on the list of links. Google became aware of the act and apologized.

When you do a search on other religions you do not come up with offensive sites. so yes, in a way the jews were given "special treatement"