Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

When Twitter user Rory Cellan-Jones asked Google Home if Barack Obama is planning a coup, the digital assistant device responded by detailing a bogus conspiracy theory about the former president plotting a communist scheme to take over the government. 

"According to details exposed in Western Centre for Journalism's exclusive video, not only could Obama be in bed with the communist Chinese, but Obama may in fact be planning a communist coup d'état at the end of his term in 2016," the smart home device's robotic voice explained, though it stumbled over the word "d'etat."

But this outlandish response isn't restricted to Google Home. Rather, it highlights a problem with how the search engine responds to queries in the form of "featured snippets" — short, direct answers highlighted at the top of its search results....

Ethical journalism is all about not being inconsiderate, insensitive and immoral....

A state of incredulity took over me as I viewed this disgraceful work, glorifying the man who made a tragic mark on the lives of so many Bostonians. While the citizens of Boston are definitely Boston Strong, the city still feels the aftermath of this event every day....

When the picture was released on the magazine's Facebook page, comments started pouring in attacking the decision to highlight a bombing suspect like he was a rock star. Among the remarks were comments on how long time subscribers were planning to unsubscribe, and a Do Something petition to have this cover replaced....