Search engine Google sparked outrage among the Muslim community after search results show traditional Palestinian Keffiyeh as terrorist headdress
The question ‘what type of headgears or scarves do terrorists wear?’ showed the white-and-black chequered Palestinian Keffiyeh in search results. The search results fuelled anger in the already disgruntled Muslim community who have been vehemently protesting against the Israeli aggression in Gaza and Palestine.
Keffiyeh rose to prominence in the 1960s by the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and soon became a symbol of Palestinian resistance. It is still worn today as a symbol of solidarity.
Read more: Social media user protests against Google Map for absence of Palestine
Analysts believe that it shows how big tech companies are shaping the negative perceptions about Palestine. It is still unclear how Google came to associate the Palestinian Keffiyeh with terrorism.
Arab news outlet, Middle Eastern Eye, reported the latest search results on Palestinian Keffiyeh. Social media users have noted similar patterns of discrimination against Palestinian forged by the search engine giant, Google. The brief history tells that Arabs and Palestinians have worn the headdress for decades, originating from farmers and later becoming a symbol of nationalism.
Google is racist!
— Sharon (@K4rmaRules) May 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/SumayyaBfd/status/1397299719135707137?s=20
These past few days, google could see that there's a lot of people wearing it while not being a terrorist anyway.
— Katia FFK #IamPalestinian 🇵🇸 (@FolkyFireKitten) May 25, 2021
Official complaints have been lodged with Google on Monday while the response is awaited from the company on the issue.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was also spotted wearing ‘Keffiyeh’ while expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine and Gaza against Israeli aggression. Pictures of him went viral on social media last week during intense airstrikes and bombing on Gaza.
On the other hand, the people of Pakistan are running a campaign against Google Maps to drop its rating on application stores in protest for not showing Palestine on its digital map application.
A Twitter user urged people to rate against Google Maps on the application store. Declining ratings will drop its market value on the store and the application will suffer monetary loss. A screenshot of the map shared by the user showed the presence of Israel but not Palestine.
The Google Map shows Gaza and West Bank but not Palestine, said the user. This campaign intends to urge Google Maps to include Palestine on the map.
“Guys, I need another favor. Palestine is not on google maps but Israel is. Go and rate 1 star to maps,” said the user. He further added that he has done his part and wants other people to do their part.