Google has been criticised for its supposedly “disrespectful” Remembrance Day tribute in the UK, after the search engine giant put a small image of a poppy acknowledging the event on its homepage.
The poppy is a nod to the day in which the Commonwealth of Nations acknowledges those who have died in the line of duty, with the poppy signifying the day as a result of the poem ‘In Flander’s Fields’, penned by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. However, Google’s gesture was criticised by some who felt that the company should have done more to commemorate it, with many taking to Twitter to voice their complaints:
Google with the home page poppy logo and no clickable animation like usual is classy. Nice.
— Gray™ (@_Gray_1) November 11, 2016
Come on Google what is that silly little poppy all about? You can do better than that! You wouldn’t be here without the sacrifice!!
— Your IT Workplace (@YourITWorkplace) November 11, 2016
Screw Google they have a Pathetic little Poppy.. Zuckerberg it represents your as small pathetic Hateful just Like Clinton’ and Obama!
— D Dump Globalism (@Buiock) November 11, 2016
One Twitter user, who has since deleted their tweet after widespread mockery, even suggested that the company was being disrespectful for not accompanying the poppy with an animation when you clicked on it.
The criticisms levied at Google come during another year which has seen widespread concern over the apparent lack of support for the Remembrance poppy, with the likes of FIFA having been condemned for stating that players during the England vs Scotland football match tonight shouldn’t wear the symbolic plastic flowers. FIFA was widely criticised for this decision, though it is expected that the players will continue to wear the flowers regardless and risk the potential fine that may come along with it.