Google Apologizes After Offensive BAFTA News Alert Sparks Global Backlash

Tech giant admits safety system failure after racial slur appeared in push notification about awards controversy.

Google has issued a public apology after a news alert about the BAFTA Film Awards included a racial slur, triggering widespread outrage online and raising fresh concerns about the company’s content safeguards.

The notification, sent through Google News, linked to a Hollywood Reporter article covering fallout from an incident at the BAFTAs. During the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall, a Tourette’s campaigner in the audience involuntarily shouted a racial slur as actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took the stage. The moment sparked debate and apologies from organizers.

However, attention quickly shifted to Google after its alert invited readers to “see more on”, followed by the offensive term. Instagram user Danny Price publicly condemned the notification, saying “what an interesting Black History Month this has turned out to be.”

Some initially speculated that artificial intelligence generated the alert. Google clarified that this was not the case. According to the company, its automated system recognized a euphemism for the slur in multiple online articles and mistakenly inserted the explicit term into the notification.

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

Google highlighted that the issue was a technical system error, not an AI failure, and admitted its safety filters did not properly activate. The incident has renewed scrutiny over how major tech platforms manage sensitive language, and how quickly they respond when safeguards fall short.