(Undated) — Citing its commitment to free speech, Google says it won’t exclude a crudely altered photograph of Michelle Obama from its search results. The image, which depicts the first lady as having monkey-like features, is posted on a blog called Hot Girls. Explaining that offensiveness alone is not a reason to remove the image from the search index, Google spokesman Scott Rubin tells the “L.A. Times” the company has, quote, “in general, a bias toward free speech.” Rubin admits the photo is offensive to many people, adding that reason alone is not enough to remove it from their search index. Although Google says it won’t alter the process that places the offending image among its top results, the company did place a house advertisement with the headline “Offensive Search Results” above the picture.
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