Imagine searching for your name on Google and finding a picture that links to a Wikipedia article about a serial killer and rapist with the same name. It can subvert your life, right? What happened to Zurich engineer Hristo Georgiev. Georgiev came across an email from his former colleague once while browsing his inbox. He wanted to let him know that Google mistakenly linked his photo to a former Bulgarian murderer.
In a blog post, Georgiev said that after reading the email, he opened Google and typed his name in the search bar. Yes, his colleague is not wrong. Google does show Georgiev’s image, but it shows the Wikipedia page of the Bulgarian serial killer who was executed on August 28, 1980.
However, the engineer thought that someone wanted to perform a carefully planned prank on him, but when he opened the Wikipedia page, he did not find his photo. “It turns out that Google’s knowledge graph algorithm somehow incorrectly linked my photos to Wikipedia articles about serial killers,” he wrote on his blog. Georgiev added that this is surprising and strange because his name is not special or unique at all. He said: “There are actually hundreds of people named after me. Despite this, my personal photos are ultimately related to a serial killer.”
This is how the page was displayed before the repair. check it out.
After laughing with some friends, Georgiev seriously considered this development and realized that it might take a darker path. He said that after reading the Wikipedia article, it can be seen that he and the murderer are two different people, but “it can never be so sure.” Georgiev added that the fact that algorithms used by billions of people can distort information in this way so easily is truly frightening.
Georgiev said that whoever is on the Internet must take care of their Internet representatives. He said: “The rampant spread of fake news and cancellation culture makes every non-anonymous person vulnerable.” The Zurich engineer went on to add that a small mistake, like the one he faced, is likely to cause The inconvenience to disaster” ruined people’s careers and reputation within a few days. Georgiev further stated that this incident changed his view. He believed that such a thing would only happen to others, not to him. “Of course I was wrong. Maybe it’s not a good idea to let an Internet company “organize the world’s information”. “Some thoughts are worth pondering,” he said.
Georgiev later updated that the problem had been resolved. Searching for Hristo Georgiev’s name now will not add pictures of the infamous Bulgarian serial killer “sadism” to the Wikipedia page.