Google apologises over Modi image search results

Internet giant Google on Wednesday apologised "for any confusion or misunderstanding" caused after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's images started appearing in image search results for query on "Top 10 criminals in India".

"These results trouble us and are not reflective of the opinions of Google. Sometimes, the way images are described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries. We apologise for any confusion or misunderstanding this has caused. We're continually working to improve our algorithms to prevent unexpected results like this," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

Google said that results to the query "top 10 criminals in india" was due to a British daily which had an image of Modi and erroneous metadata.

It said that in this case, the image search results were drawn from multiple news articles with images of Modi, covering the prime minister's statements with regard to politicians with criminal backgrounds, but added that the news articles do not link Modi to criminal activity, and the words just appeared in close proximity to each other.