Amazon’s search algorithm has been hijacked by bad actors.
What you need to know
- Earbud product listings on Amazon’s online storefront have been hijacked and vandalized.
- Product images have been replaced with images displaying strong racist language.
- The results are believed to be the result of a security breach playing off of current political tensions.
Searching for AirPods right now on Amazon? Don’t. Product listings for search results related to Apple’s popular earbuds have been hijacked, with product images replaced by banners showing off strongly racist language.
While we have chosen not to embed images of the language used, the message can be seen in screenshots on social media (which we have been able to verify independently).
It’s not clear exactly how this happened, but all signs point to a security breach aimed at exacerbating current racial tensions in the United States.
At the time of writing, Amazon has yet to speak about the breach publicly. We have reached out to Amazon for comment on this story and will update when we get a response.
Update: Amazon comment
An Amazon spokesperson gave Android Central the following comment: “We are removing the images in question and have taken action on the bad actor.”
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