Google News Headline Error Creates Controversy for ABC Anchor

ABC News correspondent experiences ‘Google problem’ of his own

On Wednesday morning (April 18), ABC News’ senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper fell victim to one of the lesser-known perils of online publishing. Filing a story on a recent Romney campaign attack on President Obama (the Romney team dug up a quote from Obama’s memoir where the president recalled eating dog meat as a young boy in Indonesia), Tapper had his original headline indexed incorrectly by Google News, which pulled a particularly unsavory quote from the comments section and showcasing it as if it were the story's actual headline.

The headline, as Tapper wrote it: "Romney Campaign Notes That Obama as a Boy Ate Dog Meat*"

The headline, as indexed by Google News: "I’ll bet Obama ate a WHITE dog."

Tapper, who was alerted via Twitter, condemned the error calling it “horrific” and noted that “Google's algorithm is a pernicious beast."

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