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Date Posted: 22:05:27 04/13/04 Tue
Author: david
Subject: Google's Refusal to Remove the anti-semitic hate site JewWatch.com

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 14:25:22 -0700
From: help@google.com Add to Address Book
To: "teach on"
Subject: Re: [#8995230] Shame on Google




We received your note concerning hate sites in our search results. We
agree that the results you're seeing are very disturbing and we assure
you
that the views expressed are not in any way endorsed by Google. We'd
like
to explain why you're seeing these results when you conduct a search.

A site's ranking in Google's search results is automatically determined
by
computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's
relevance to a given query. Sometimes subtleties of language cause
anomalies to appear that cannot be predicted. A search for "Jew" brings
up
one such unexpected result.

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 he 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, it's likely that most of the people currently using
Google
to search for "Jew" are those who have heard about this issue and want
to
see the results for themselves.

Our search results are generated completely objectively and are
independent of the beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google.
The only sites we omit are those we are legally compelled to remove or
those maliciously attempting to manipulate our results. We will not
remove
a site from our search results based on a petition. However, you can
choose to screen most hate sites from your search results with our
optional SafeSearch filter, activated from the preferences page linked
off
Google's homepage.

We apologize for the upsetting nature of the experience you had using
Google and appreciate your taking the time to inform us about it.

Sincerely,
The Google Team

p.s. You may be interested in some additional information the
Anti-Defamation League has posted about this issue on their website at:
http://www.adl.org/rumors/google_search_rumors.asp

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