Google implicated in the Orange Revolution?

I have finally found evidence that the Internet was instrumental in Ukraine’s Orange Revolution…Turns out it’s all Google’s fault! It turns out that when you use Google Translate to translate (from Chinese to Russian) the expression "Vote for Yanukovych" (Yanukovych was Kremlin’s favorite candidate), Google gives you "Vote for Yushenko" in the translated version. Global ...

I have finally found evidence that the Internet was instrumental in Ukraine's Orange Revolution...Turns out it's all Google's fault!

I have finally found evidence that the Internet was instrumental in Ukraine’s Orange Revolution…Turns out it’s all Google’s fault!

It turns out that when you use Google Translate to translate (from Chinese to Russian) the expression "Vote for Yanukovych" (Yanukovych was Kremlin’s favorite candidate), Google gives you "Vote for Yushenko" in the translated version. Global conspiracy orchestrated by Google!

Even more intriguing is how spotted the error! It was discovered by Liberty.ru, a site closely associated with the Fund for Effective Politics, a leading pro-Kremlin think-tank headed by Gleb Pavlovsky, one of Yanukovich’s cheerleaders. I can only imagine how many painfull months (or years?) Pavlovsky’s interns must have spent to unearth this tiny piece of evidence suggesting foreign intervention in the Orange Revolution via the Internet!

Update:  Google appears to have fixed this

Update 2:  Here are some screenshots for those who can’t believe it! The story is well-covered in Russian and Ukrainian media.

Evgeny Morozov is a fellow at the Open Society Institute and sits on the board of OSI's Information Program. He writes the Net Effect blog on ForeignPolicy.com

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