Google buys ad to explain Michelle Obama image result

Last Friday we reported that Google had removed the top image search result for First Lady Michelle Obama, saying the image, which happened to be pretty offensive, was hosted by a site that violated Google's guildelines by serving malware to visitors.

The offensive photo was then posted by a site that does not violate Google's guidelines, according to SearchEngineLand.com.

So Google has taken matters into its own hands, buying an ad to run with the search results explaining why the offensive photo is back in its index. The ad links to an explanation that reads:

Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google.

Search engines are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the Internet. A site's ranking in Google's search results relies heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query.

The beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google, as well as the opinions of the general public, do not determine or impact our search results. Individual citizens and public interest groups do periodically urge us to remove particular links or otherwise adjust search results. Although Google reserves the right to address such requests individually, Google views the integrity of our search results as an extremely important priority. Accordingly, we do not remove a page from our search results simply because its content is unpopular or because we receive complaints concerning it. We will, however, remove pages from our results if we believe the page (or its site) violates our Webmaster Guidelines, if we believe we are required to do so by law, or at the request of the webmaster who is responsible for the page.

We apologize if you've had an upsetting experience using Google. We hope you understand our position regarding offensive results.

HuffingtonPost has its own account here.