RALEIGH, N.C. -- Google has apologized to a North Carolina lawmaker after a search for her picture turned up an old photo with the word "bigot'' superimposed over the image. 

  • Google has apologized for the image
  • Sen. Trudy Wade says she appreciates the apology, but finds it "hollow"
  • The image was taken down Friday

Multiple news sources report the image of state Sen. Trudy Wade with the word in red letters at the bottom of the photo was taken down on Friday.   

 

A tweet from Google said images that appear in its Knowledge Panel are either selected by verified users or are automatically sourced from sites across the internet.

Earlier in the week, Google blamed Wikipedia for search results that said the ideology of the California Republican Party included "Nazism.'' Results were seen in a Google information box screen-captured by Vice News on Thursday. Vice also reported on the Wade photo.

On her website, she released a statement saying, "What happened yesterday was shameful, but for me, and fellow conservatives, it was just another day at the office. Being an optimist at heart, I hope we’ll be better tomorrow because of this, but the realist in me knows it will take more than belated apologies."

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