SAN FRANCISCO — Google image searches for “three black teenagers” and “three white teenagers” get very different results, raising troubling questions about how racial bias in society and the media is reflected online.
Kabir Alli, an 18-year-old graduating senior from Clover Hill High School in Midlothian, Va., posted a video clip on Twitter this week of a Google image search for “three black teenagers” which turned up an array of police mugshots. He and friends then searched for “three white teenagers,” and found groups of smiling young people.
“I had actually heard about this search from one of my friends and just wanted to see everything for myself. I didn’t think it would actually be true,” Alli told USA TODAY. “When I saw the results I was nothing short of shocked.”
Source: ‘Three black teenagers’ Google search sparks outrage