Activists Troll Donald Trump by Hijacking 'Idiot' Search on Google

GettyImages-488226322
Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the American Airlines Center on September 14, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. Activists appear to have gamed Google's algorithm to make images of the U.S. leader... Tom Pennington/Getty

Search the word "idiot" on Google images and you are likely to see a familiar face pop up—none other than President Donald Trump.

Photos of Trump have their made their way to the top of the search engine's image results page after activists in Britain adopted the Green Day song "American Idiot" as their anthem to rally against the president's recent London visit.

The 2004 hit single quickly rose to the top of U.K. charts ahead of the president's visit, rocketing to the No.1 spot on Amazon's best-sellers list.

Unfortunately for Trump, the association to the offensive label, which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as a "person affected with extreme mental retardation" or as a "foolish or stupid person," appears to have stuck.

The president's photo appears in four of the top five results of a Google image search in both the U.S. and Britain.

The other photo included in the results appears to be of Britain-based journalist and activist Ash Sarkar, who called Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan an idiot during an interview over her plans to protest Trump's visit to Westminster.

Trump, who has previously touted his high IQ and declared himself a "stable genius" likely won't be too happy about his newfound popularity on the Google images page.

However, if the U.S. leader expects the search engine's head honchos to intervene, he is likely out of luck.

Read more: Green Day's 'American Idiot' Tops U.K. Charts Ahead Of Trump's Visit

When it comes to its search algorithm, Google has been adamant in its refusal to intervene with results, no matter who they offend.

The company was steadfast in that commitment even in 2009, when searches for then-first lady Michelle Obama began returning image results showing a picture of her face altered to have ape-like features.

Rather than pull the racially offensive image, Google opted to instead use ad space to explain why it was appearing in its search.

"Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries," the ad said, according to CNN.

"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," it said.

"Accordingly, we do not remove a page from our search results simply because its content is unpopular or because we receive complaints concerning it," it added.

While the algorithm is constantly being recast to improve its efficacy, the company refuses to alter its results in order to protect the integrity of the search engine.

While that may not be good news for Trump, Green Day is likely enjoying its own recent surge in popularity on the Google search engine.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Chantal Da Silva is Chief Correspondent at Newsweek, with a focus on immigration and human rights. She is a Canadian-British journalist whose work ... Read more

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