After apology, a disclaimer

IN Media Watch Briefs | 05/06/2015

On Wednesday (May 3) Google apologized to PM Narendra Modi for the fact that his image appears in image search results for the query “top 10 criminals in India.” Along with him the search engine was throwing up images of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and a lesbian couple celebrating their marriage! On Thursday it added a disclaimer to the same search result: "These results don’t reflect Google’s opinion or our beliefs; our algorithms automatically matched the query to web pages with these images."

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Amazon resisting voluntary censorship

The new term for self censorship is voluntary censorship, as proposed by companies like Netflix and Hotstar. ET reports that streaming video service Amazon Prime is opposing a move by its peers to adopt a voluntary censorship code in anticipation of the Indian government coming up with its own rules. Amazon is resisting because it fears that it may alienate paying subscribers.

Let the games begin

Clearly, the run to the 2019 elections is on. A journalist received a call from someone saying they were from Aajtak channel and were conducting a survey, asking whom she was going to vote for in 2019. On being told that her vote was secret, the caller assumed she wasn't going to vote for 'Modiji'. The caller, a woman, also didn't identify herself. A month or two earlier the same journalist received a call, this time from a man, asking if she was going to vote for the BSP.