Morocco’s ministry of Culture, and Communication told MoroccoLatestNews it was closely monitoring a controversial Google search result that shows Morocco’s founding date as 1956.
Over the last few days, Moroccans on social media heavily criticized Algerians for the falsification campaign, and called for accountability.
The ministry said it was taking steps in this regard, and that it is currently in contact with the research motor company Google to trace down the beginning and source of the controversy.
Petition platform On Change, a person called Amine Regba created a petition to “Stop Google Search Manipulation: Correct Date of Morocco’s Founding (789 AD)”.
The petition’s introduction says “We, the undersigned, are dedicated users of Google who are deeply concerned about the persistent manipulation of search results on the platform, particularly concerning the date of foundation of the Kingdom of Morocco in the year 789 AD. We firmly believe in the importance of providing accurate and reliable historical information to Google users.”
The explanation went on, “We have observed that malicious individuals continue to alter the information displayed in search results, including the date of the foundation of the Kingdom of Morocco. This not only undermines the quality and trustworthiness of Google’s search results but also distorts the historical and cultural context of Morocco.”
The petition suggested enhanced measures to detect and prevent manipulation of search results, strengthening sanctions against those responsible for manipulation, and promoting transparency.
Moroccan internet users were outraged by the Google search engine’s inaccurate display of the date of Morocco’s founding. Some of the complaints included screenshots of the online search result before the change, which showed Morocco’s founding year as 789, indicating that there may have been a coordinated effort to change the search engine’s date.
Moroccans speculate that Algerians used the Al Haouz earthquake tragedy to launch this campaign, and authorities have yet to confirm who started the controversy and why.