Google Suggests Searchers Should "Kill Yourself" & Commit Suicide

Sep 15, 2009 - 8:07 am 5 by
Filed Under Google

A Google Web Search Help thread has a complaint from a worried searcher who stumbled upon a Google Suggestion on how to kill yourself. He said he was searching for tips on killing poisonous mushrooms and when he began typing "how to kill," Google suggested he search for "How to killing yourself."

Here is a picture:

Google Suggests Suicide

Google does sometimes censor the suggestions in the list but typically they are algorithmically driven based on searcher popularity. In this case, it might make sense for Google to filter out these suggestions.

The topic of suicide ads showing up in in AdWords is nothing new. Also, in the past we talked about Google censoring both the ads and organic results for suicide matches. Although censoring results is typically something Google is against, censoring the suggestions is something they have historically done and should do here.

Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Ads

Google Ads Officially Launches Grouped Ad Label For Search Ads

Oct 13, 2025 - 12:15 pm
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: October 13, 2025

Oct 13, 2025 - 10:00 am
Blog Administration

Programming Note: Offline For Simchat Torah On Tuesday & Wednesday

Oct 13, 2025 - 9:30 am
Google Maps

Google Local Results Without Call Button - Web Guide Or Bug?

Oct 13, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google's Robby Stein On AI Not Replacing Search, AI Within Search, SEO For AI

Oct 13, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Goldmine Search Content Ranking System?

Oct 13, 2025 - 7:31 am
 
Previous Story: Google Blamed For New York Times Malware