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Google Red-Faced After PM Branded Top Criminal

Google Red-Faced After PM Branded Top Criminal

Google has apologised after photos of India's Prime Minister began appearing in image search results for "top 10 criminals".

Narendra Modi's face appears alongside al Qaeda chiefs Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, as well as American gangster Al Capone.

Also on the list are fugitives Dawood Ibrahim, mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai bombings which killed 257 people, and Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, which slaughtered hundreds of civilians in Uganda.

After many politicians and commentators began expressing concern on social media, Google apologised for "any misunderstanding or confusion".

A spokesperson for the search engine told Sky News: "These results trouble us and are not reflective of the opinions of Google.

"Sometimes, the way images are described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries.

"We apologise for any confusion or misunderstanding this has caused. We're continually working to improve our algorithms to prevent unexpected results like this."

It is thought the search result was caused by numerous news stories on Mr Modi's statements about politicians with criminal backgrounds.

Another explanation was that a British newspaper published an image of the PM with incorrect metadata.

Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it would take up the matter with Google.

All India Congress national spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted: "Hey @google the Indian Prime Min listed in #Top10Criminals really? Time u changed ur algorithm,this is just so wrong."