Internet giant Google will not stop its advanced search system prompting people to look for lectures by an Al-Qaeda hate preacher.
The company's search engine uses an autocomplete tool that suggests extra words to help users find what they are looking for more quickly.
But when the name of jihadi imam Anwar al-Awlaki is entered, the engine suggests words including 'lectures', giving access to speeches of hate made before his death in 2011.
Experts have described the function as 'incredibly dangerous', with al-Awlaki said to have influenced several attacks on the West in the past, including the 7/7 London bombings.
Advanced Google searches for Al-Qaeda hate preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, pictured, prompt internet users to look for his 'quotes and lectures' via an autocomplete tool
Google-owned video site YouTube also carries a similar feature, although the site does remove footage that incites violence or terrorism when flagged by users.
American Al-Awlaki, who previously lived in the UK, was at the top of the CIA's most wanted list.
He was also previously described as the 'bin Laden of the internet' due to his preachings via a blog, Facebook page and YouTube videos.
Al-Awlaki was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen, where he was thought to be leading a terrorist organisation.
Searches for his name without the extra words lead to webpages that describe his links to terrorism.
Meanwhile searches for his name with 'quotes' or 'lectures' lead to websites that include quotes such as 'fight to the last man' and 'Jihad will carry on'.
The prompting of these extra search terms has been described as 'incredibly dangerous' by terrorism experts, with around 90 terrorist plots and attacks in the West 'influenced by Awlaki material online'.
The firm said its searches use algorithms 'based on what other people are searching for' and that people are 'smart enough' to make their own choices
Julie Shain of the Counter Extremism Project, told The Times: 'This incentivises people to search for these things and suggests it's normal to do so.
'In combination with the thousands of videos and pages calling for attacks on the West, it's incredibly dangerous.'
Al-Awlaki spoke American English, and his sermons are widely available online.
His primary message was Muslims were 'under attack' and had 'a duty to carry out attacks on non-believers at home'.
Al-Awlaki lived in the UK between 2002 and 2004 and gave a series of lectures in London, warning people 'not to trust non-Muslims' and speaking of the 'rewards of martyrdom'.
It comes after Google made changes to its search algorithms to tackle misogynistic and anti Semitic searches online.
Al-Awlaki was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011, where he was believed to be leading a terrorist cell
A statement by the firm released earlier this month said: 'Autocomplete predictions are algorithmically generated based on users' search activity and interests.
'Users search for such a wide range of material on the web – 15 per cent of searches we see every day are new.
'Because of this, terms that appear in autocomplete may be unexpected or unpleasant.
'We do our best to prevent offensive terms, like porn and hate speech, from appearing, but we acknowledge that autocomplete isn't an exact science and we're always working to improve our algorithms.'
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 yesterday, Google director Matt Brittin also said the company works very hard to remove illegal and hateful content.
Mr Brittin said the internet giant has more to do to tackle illegal content, but urged people to make their own judgments should they encounter unsavoury material online.
The president of Google Europe also called for a simplification of UK tax rules, as he insisted the company paid the corporation tax it was asked to by the Government.
Mr Brittin told the Today programme the tool helped save time, adding: 'But it's algorithmic, and I think people understand that these are suggestions based on what other people are searching for.
'So we can always improve that and we work hard to do that, but I think people are smart and they realise that not everything you find on the internet is accurate and there's a range of opinions there.
'I think you see people researching that well. We always have to do more, but I think people understand this is a world of choice.
'People have got more choice and more access to information than ever before, and they can therefore be better informed and make their own judgments.'
His preachings are said to have inspired the 7/7 London bombings in 2005, pictured
Mr Brittin said more effort was also needed to tackle illegal content linked to by Google.
He said: 'It's our job to make sure that we observe the laws everywhere we operate, and we help to remove hateful and harmful and illegal content, and we work very hard on doing that both with technology and of course with people - you can't always use algorithms to solve these things.
'It's an ongoing investment of energy, working in partnership with governments and others, to try to ensure that the internet is an overwhelmingly positive force for society, which I think generally people will accept that it is.
'We always have to work harder on those things.'
'Eenie Meenie' | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber | ||||
from the album My World 2.0 | ||||
Released | March 23, 2010 | |||
Format | CD single, digital download | |||
Recorded | King of Kings Studio (Miami, Florida) | |||
Genre | Dance-pop | |||
Length | 3:22 | |||
Label | Beluga Heights, Island, Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kisean Anderson, Justin Bieber, Carlos Battey, Steven Battey, Benjamin Levin, Marcos Palacios, Ernest Clark | |||
Producer(s) | Benny Blanco | |||
Sean Kingston singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Justin Bieber singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
'Eenie Meenie' on YouTube |
'Eenie Meenie' is a song by American singer Sean Kingston and Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song was written by the two Carlos Battey, Steven Battey, Marcos Palacios and Ernest Clark, Benny Blanco and was produced by the latter. It was originally released as the first single from Kingston's third studio album Back 2 Life on March 23, 2010, but was taken off for unknown reasons. However, it is included on Bieber's My World 2.0. The song, a dance-pop number with Kingston's reggae influences and Bieber's R&B vocals, is lyrically about an indecisive lover.
The song reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and the top twenty in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United States. The accompanying music video features Kingston and Bieber at a pool party at a condo, being pursued by the same girl.
A 22-second sample of 'Eenie Meenie' featuring vocals from Kingston and Bieber. | |
Problems playing this file? See media help. |
The song premiered on March 4, 2010, on Ryan Seacrest's website,[1] and it was released officially on March 23, 2010, in the United States.[2] It is a dance-pop song, with R&B, and reggae fusion influences,[3][4] written in the key of B♭ minor, with a vocal range from the tone of F♯4 to the note of A5.[5] It moves at 120 beats per minute and is set in common time.[5] The song features a prominent synthesized back beat, followed by verses from both singers, then a rap interlude, while utilizing the children's rhyme 'Eenie Meenie Miny Moe.'[6]
Kyle Anderson of MTV said that 'Eenie Meenie' melds Sean Kingston's island-inflected dance-pop with Bieber's sweet tween R&B.'[4] A reviewer of DJBooth said, 'The record’s crown jewel, of course, is the chorus, which will worm its way into your head whether you like it or not.'[7] Although he called the song catchy, Chris Richards of The Washington Post said Kingston 'hogs the mike' on the song.[8] Rudy Klapper of Sputnikmusic wrote about the lyrics, on the album review, that those are 'disturbing', but at the same time 'unintentionally hilarious.' She also criticized the production: 'There's not much to say about the kind of producer who thinks the use of the term 'shorty' with an elementary school gimmick is a good idea.'[9] Luke O'Neil from The Boston Globe noted 'Sultry reggaeton is repackaged here for the tween set with Sean Kingston's 'Eenie Meenie.' 'Shorty' was never sung so literally.'[10]
In the United States 'Eenie Meenie' entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number thirty on April 7, 2010, where it was the highest debut of the week.[11] The next week it dropped three places,[12] and stayed there for another additional week.[13] On the Billboard issue dated May 15, 2010, the single reached its peaked, at number fifteen,[14] and it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[15]As of February 2011, the single was sold 1,238,000 times.[16]In Australia, it debuted at number forty-nine within the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart on April 4, 2010,[17] the next week, 'Eenie Meenie' reached the number thirty, but it fell out the chart the following week.[17] It re-entered at number forty-five on April 25, 2010, and reached its peak at number eleven on May 30, 2010, where it stayed for three weeks.[17] Later it was certified as gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[18] The song appeared in the UK Singles Chart on May 22, 2010, at number fifty-eight. The next week 'Eenie Meenie' rose to number seventeen and peaked at number nine in the next two weeks.[19]
In Ireland, it debuted at number forty-one in the Irish Singles Chart on April 15, 2010,[20] and rose the number twelve on May 17, 2010.[21] In the Canadian Hot 100 'Eenie Meenie' debuted and peaked at number fourteen, becoming the highest debut of the week.[22] But in the next issue, the single became the biggest drop, falling to the number thirty-one.[23] It was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association.[24] In New Zealand it debuted at number thirteen on March 29, 2010, and in its eighth week the song peaked at number five.[25] It also was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.[26]
The music video was filmed on March 30, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California,[27] and was directed by Ray Kay, director of Bieber's 'Baby' video.[28] On the topic of choosing the lead girl, Kingston told MTV News, 'I picked the main girl, basically, because Justin is 16 and I'm 20 years old, so it had to be a girl that fit the both of us, because in the video and song, she's trying to play the both of us. So there had to be a contrast. She fit it perfectly.'[29] Additionally, Kingston explained the plot of the video to Rap-Up, commenting, 'The video is basically about this girl trying to play both of us and at the end... we end up both at the same place at one time, and she's left with a stupid look on her face.'[30] Appearances are made by Bieber's friend, Christian Beadles, as well as rapper Lil Romeo and singer/actress Jasmine Villegas, whose appearance further fuelled media speculation Villegas and Bieber were romantically involved after a previous appearance in his music video for 'Baby'.[29][31] Jocelyn Vena of MTV News reviewed the video, 'Here's the play-by-play: While Kingston and the lady in question are flirting out on the deck, Bieber is chilling inside. But, wait — there she is flirting with Bieber while Kingston is hanging out, wondering where she went. The fickle girl eventually leaves Bieber to chill with Kingston, and then — boom — there she is with Bieber again. And, well, you get it. Of course, the 'eenie-meenie-miny-moe lover' eventually gets caught. While she's chatting up Kingston, along comes Bieber, and her game is blown. The dudes are cool with it. Well, they're not cool with her playing them, but they seem to remain friends despite both going for the same girl.'[32] As of August 2018 the music video on YouTube has 292 million views.
Digital Download[33] | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | 'Eenie Meenie' |
CD Single | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | 'Eenie Meenie' | 3:21 |
2. | 'Eenie Meenie' (Video) | 3:30 |
Source:[34]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
Certifications[edit]
|
Region | Date | Label | Format |
---|---|---|---|
United States | March 15, 2010[57] | Beluga Heights, Epic | Airplay |
March 23, 2010[2] | CD single | ||
France[58] | March 28, 2010 | Digital download | |
Germany[59] | |||
United Kingdom[60] | |||
United States[61] | |||
Canada[62] | June 29, 2010 | ||
Japan[63] | |||
United Kingdom[64] | July 5, 2010 |