Google mistakenly erased former US President Joe Biden’s ‘entire presidency’ from Google Search. Recently, users searching terms like “US Presidents,” “United States Presidents,” and “US Presidents in order” observed that Biden, who completed his presidential term last week, was absent from the list.
According to a report by CNBC, the results displayed a sequence of presidents from George Washington to Donald Trump.Screenshots and video clips of the missing entry were shared widely on social media.
What Google has to say
Google attributed a “data error” after users noticed that former President was missing from search results related to US presidents.
“A brief data error occurred in our knowledge graph. We identified the root cause and resolved it quickly,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC. The term “knowledge graph” refers to a system that connects and organises information.
The oversight came months after Google CEO Sundar Pichai urged employees to focus on maintaining trust and accuracy in the company’s services. In a memo sent on Election Day last November, Pichai emphasized Google’s responsibility to provide reliable and unbiased information.
“Regardless of the election outcome, we must continue being a trusted source of information for people from all backgrounds and beliefs,” Pichai wrote at the time.
In December, Pichai acknowledged at an all-hands meeting that the company was facing heightened global criticism, which he linked to Google’s influence and scale.
Previous Google controversies over search results
The company has faced recent missteps, including Google’s AI Overview feature, which provides summaries atop traditional search results, encountered errors after its debut, attracting scrutiny.
Similarly for Imagen 2, its AI tool that generated images based on user prompts. After users flagged historical inaccuracies shortly after launch, Google temporarily removed the product for fixes. Pichai later admitted to employees that the mishap had “offended users and shown bias.”