Google ‘Deeply Sorry’ for BAFTA N-Word News Alert

Google apologized Tuesday for sending out an “offensive notification” about the latest BAFTA Film Awards controversy, which included the use of the N-word.

The inclusion of the slur in the message, which Google confirmed to Variety was acquired by a “only a very small subset” of app customers who obtain push notifications, was not as a result of a system error involving AI, as has been incorrectly reported. According to Google, the system’s security filters didn’t accurately set off when it “recognized a euphemism for an offensive term on several web pages, and accidentally applied the offensive term to the notification text.”

The push notification in query linked to an article from The Hollywood Reporter with the headline, “How the Tourette’s Fallout Unfolded at the BAFTA Film Awards,” and Google included additional textual content that read “See more on,” adopted by the N-word.

“We’re deeply sorry for this mistake,” a Google spokesperson said Tuesday. “We’ve removed the offensive notification and are working to prevent this from happening again.”

The notification controversy comes amid ongoing fallout from Sunday’s BAFTA Film Awards, during which Tourette’s syndrome activist John Davidson involuntarily shouted the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo had been presenting on stage. The pre-taped second was aired without enhancing.

In a letter to BAFTA members despatched Tuesday, BAFTA Chair Sara Putt and CEO Jane Millichip mentioned the incident, stating they wished to “acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all.” They also said that a “comprehensive review” was now underway.