According to VANK on Tuesday, the politically charged Dokdo Island is being indicated as Liancourt Rocks in Google Knowledge Graph search results in at least 13 languages including English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, French and Arabic. (Image: Google)
SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – Cyber diplomacy organization VANK has said it will urge Google to revise information about Dokdo in its Knowledge Graph.
According to VANK on Tuesday, the politically charged Dokdo Island is being indicated as Liancourt Rocks in Google Knowledge Graph search results in at least 13 languages including English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, French and Arabic.
Under the name Liancourt Rocks, the search engine describes the island as a disputed territory between South Korean and Japan, also citing the names Dokdo (Korean) and Takeshima (Japanese), Vank reported after analyzing Google Knowledge Graph search results from 13 out of 149 languages in which Google operates.
The search results were modified depending on the region, with no Knowledge Graph data regarding Dokdo displayed in Google’s Korean language service.
“It seems like Google has used a trick and deleted English information about Dokdo in search results on its Korean website, due to the South Korean public’s sentiment,” said VANK founder Park Ki-tae.
“As the Google Knowledge Graph can be a barometer for people around the world, the distortion of information regarding Dokdo on a global level must be stopped,” Park added.
Following the revelation, VANK is set to investigate a further 135 Google language services over similar matters.
VANK also urged Koreans living abroad and international students to pressure Google to correct its knowledge graph through feedback features.
Google began offering its Knowledge Graph in 2012, a service which shows concise information related to the keyword along with search results, and now boasts over 3.5 billion pieces of information.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
