Swastika ('卐') tops Google's search list, then disappears

Image courtesy NPR's Bryant Park Project

This morning, the swastika character rose to the top of Google's Hot Trends list, which could mean, as we've speculated before, that thousands of people were searching for the symbol simultaneously. Perhaps even more oddly, the swastika mysteriously disappeared from the trends list a few hours later -- almost certainly the result of some human decision at Google, since the No. 1 term rarely vanishes from the list so quickly (especially after Drudge links to it).

Various theories have been circulated about the provenance of the swastika on Google. The first, from a comments thread on Blogoscoped, was that someone on the underground message board 4Chan (the same net location that helped incubate the anti-Scientology group Anonymous) had posted the HTML code for the swastika in the morning, after which "thousand of people googled it." I'm not exactly sure why 4Chan members would've been Googling the character itself, unless it was some kind of subversive statement, but either way, the Blogoscoped commenter said the 4Chan post has now been removed. 

Another theory has to do with the symbol's original meaning (Wikipedia says the Sanskrit noun "svastika" means "any lucky or auspicious object"). Dan at tdaxp points out that if you actually search the character, you get a list of results in Chinese: "A little thought," he writes, "reveals why. The swastika is a traditional Chinese good-luck character, the Olympics are coming up, and good luck is on the Chinese mind." Dan points to the translation of the Chinese Wikipedia page on 'Wan.'

Also seems a bit fishy -- thousands of Chinese are Googling the Swastika because it means good luck?

I contacted Google for a comment on the disappearance, I'll post when I get a reply. I know displaying the Swastika is illegal in Germany, but I didn't think it was illegal on the Internet. Taking it down doesn't help anything: If a lot of people are searching it, there are a lot of other people that probably want to know why.

UPDATE (2:22 Pacific): Google has sent me the following statement, which does not address the important question of why the Swastika disappeared:

The Hot Trends list is automatically generated by machines and algorithms that detect hot or breaking queries. In this case, it appears that the html code for this query was posted on a popular internet bulletin board, which led to quite a few people searching to find out more about this symbol. The Hot Trends list reflected that surge due to people searching with this query.

Assuming the spokesperson is referring to 4Chan, it's still not clear whether Google is verifying via internal data that the searches originated from the bulletin board, or simply repeating the most likely explanation.  (I enjoy the idea that curious 4chan members searched the swastika to "find out more about" it.)

I've requested clarification on these questions from the Google Trends team, which is in Tel Aviv. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 2: The story continues, and Google apologizes, here.

Comments

[David Miscavige]

Damn that eBaumsworld and their Internet Hate Machine! They're always doing stuff like this. A bunch of haters and bigots!

[Erica]

It could theoretically also be due to the millionaire sex scandal in Britain involving alleged Nazi roleplaying - that was in the NYT yesterday http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/world/europe/09mosley.html?
ex=1373342400&en=01bf6fba08ab4b8a&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

[Brad Gerstein]

How is it possible to search with the swastika symbol? It is not a standard character you can find on any computer keyboard and is not available in any fonts that are installed on Mac or PC computers.

[Jolnir the Viking]

The abuse of a thing does not debase the essential goodness of a thing. The swastika may never be rehabilitated after what the Nazis did to it and to everything they touched, but we can hope. It's a lovely mnemonic for all things good and right with the world.

[Mikel]

Brad makes a good point. I'd like to know the answer to that question.

[Anonymous]

Discussions on 4chan do not last long. All boards have a maximum number of threads and posting a new one deletes the oldest one. Threads on 4chan last from a few days to a few minutes until they are pruned. If the swastika thing started on 4chan it probably disappeared from google when the thread died.

[David Sarno]

Brad and Mikel: For the answer, look at the absolute top of your browser window. Instead of the character itself, you should see its representation in HTML, the code that controls the display of much of what you see and on the Internet. Every special character has a respective HTML shorthand, including the swastika. Someone probably dug this up for kicks and posted it. At that point, instead of typing in the code every time, users could just copy the swastika itself and paste it into the search bar.

[Dave]

Quote: "How is it possible to search with the swastika symbol? It is not a standard character you can find on any computer keyboard and is not available in any fonts that are installed on Mac or PC computers."
Posted by: Brad Gerstein

Quote: "Brad makes a good point. I'd like to know the answer to that question."
Posted by: Mikel
__________________
That's easy to answer. Your failure to read the story and comprehend the content answers your question. It's *HTML CODE* not an ascii character that could be assigned to a key. Ugh. Read people. READ.

[Alex March]

Whats the big deal? Its just a symbol. What is served by censoring it?
Will you change anyone's mind? No

Will you prevent somone from seeking information on Nazis? No

Will you look like an overly controling douchebag? Yes.....

[Captain]

How could the swastika itself become a search symbol when it's not anywhere on the keyboard and manage to get to the top? It's because someone either hacked Google's system or one of their employees made some kind of coding to get that symbol on the computer and then placed it at the top of the trends list.

I imagine that Google would rather use the story of some neo Nazi group searching for the swastika then admit that their system is penetrable.

[dave]

Dear David Sarno,

You're blaming 4chan for this and that's considered a libel. What proof do you have that 4chan was behind it? It seems to me that all the clueless journos are blaming 4chan for everything and anything that happens on the internet. threads on 4chan last 10min or less so how exactly could they generate such a volume of traffic needed to sway these USA-wide internet rankings? Doesn't make any sense!

Dave R.

[Anonymous]

I was on 4chan late last night / early this morning and saw the symbol for the first time ever in some random post. I immediately decided to search it, I don't know why. I guess a lot of other people did, too. Also, for a few hours after that, people were making posts consisting of nothing but that symbol repeated endlessly, so it generated a lot of attention. I'm betting it was the first time many people had seen the symbol, and they were curious, as I was.

[snake]

Dave R.,

Please look up the definition of libel before making dumb accusations.

[LANNY DRAVIS]

so all these very clever people absolutely dismiss the

increasing detestation of all things israel and it's threatening and warmongering?

Heads in sand, perhaps?

[2tellthetruth]

I was one of the people doing searches on the swastika. In my case, there was an ongoing discussion on a worldwide forum regarding a military base in San Diego, California that was accidentally(?) built in the shape of a swastika. I doubted the story but it turns out it is true. There was then a lot of discussion on the ancient origin of the swastika before the symbol was forever corrupted by the Nazis. Apparently, it is a sun symbol that appears to have been used by virtually every ancient culture on earth.

[FoianZ]

This article makes a huge factual error.... A SWASTIKA (svastika) is a Hindu (Indian) Symbol signifying good luck...NOT CHINESE. A simple look at wikipedia clearly points this out. Oddly enough wikipedia was even cited in this article? Please report factual information and change the article immediately!

[Eric Bauman]

Ebaumsworld strikes again!

[JAY]

So I am Jewish but not many american Jew would assume it because my name is not Jewish and I am Black. I converted to Buddhism 20 years ago and found that this was a sacred symbol within Buddhism as well as the star of David. I had a argument with a young lady about the military barracks and thought that they should leave it alone and not waste tax dollars for it. She felt that it was an afront to Jews.. I told her that I was buddhist and that it was a sacred symbol . She did not care.. She said it was a symbol of hate and should not be seen anywhere. Called me an antisemite for my position!!! I did not let her in on the secret.. I just let her ramble on. So my religion must take back seat to yours? Get over it people!!!

[The Captain]

Foian - The swastika symbol has also been used by Buddhists in Chinese history. It is also a Navajo symbol. It is not just a Hindu or Indo-Aryan symbol.

I think this should be a much bigger story than it currently is. It is a bizarre excuse that tens of thousands of people were searching for the swastika using the actual symbol itself because they saw it on 4chan, a message board site. I think it's a lot more probable that someone hacked Google and inserted the swastika at the top of the trends list.

Google is probably worried that someone has either figured out their proprietary algorithm to manipulate the rankings or someone has hacked their coding and could have access to basically a printout of your brain - emails, search terms, etc.

[danny bloom]

The Swastika is NOt a Chinese good luck symbol. That is total BS. Temples and shrines in Taiwan and Japan and China use an inverted swastika symbol, NOT the Nazi thing, as a mark of good fortune on their maps and temples, yes, but the Nazi version of the swastiaka is NOT a Chinese good luck symbol. Google it

[Bill]

No, Jay, but just as a burning cross is far more hateful to those victimized under its banner than it is inspiring to whoever might find it meaningful, so too most Jews who see a swastika might well tell you that it was a Dharmic symbol coopted by the Nazis, and yet feel that, within our culture, its use is frowned on. Here in the US, as in the rest of the West, the swastika used outside of the context of Hindu, Jain, or Buddhist belief pretty exclusively means, "I'm glad they killed your grandparents, and support the killing of you."

I'm not offended by this particular Google event, nor do I take it to mean that antisemitism is spiking (it is, but this isn't evidence).

[Sophie]

In the ancient culture of Hindus (much of which is based on the historic Aryan culture established in India), the swastika represents luck, or the sun. It has no racial overtones, which Hitler later ascribed to it. Maybe people were interested in the history of the swastika.

[Darrel]

Al Gore invented the internet, therefore he is responsible for the swastica search..

It actually is quite fitting.

[w3bgrrl]

Dave,

Before you go criticizing someone's ability to read and comprehend, you might want to re-read the statement by Google again. It says, "In this case, it appears that the html code for this query was posted on a popular internet bulletin board..."

FOR THIS QUERY.

In other words a link to the google query for "卐" was posted. Obviously, the swastika does have an ASCII code.

[nageek]

I think everyone is missing the most obvious explanation. Most people aren't aware that the swastika appears in the unicode lexicon. One person posted it, and everyone reading that thread copied it and (if they were using a non IE browser, dragged and dropped it to a new window (usually triggering a google search) or pasted it in the address bar just for sh*ts and giggles. they did this, then posted it somewhere else, where more people saw and highlighted it again. Instant viral. I'm not sure how to do it, but I'd lay odds that most of the IP's quering "卐" came from kids home from school, surfing digg or 4chan or fark.