The Google Bomb Story

In November 2004, National Geographic published a new edition of their World Atlas. In it, they had used the bogus name of Arabian Gulf in addition to the correct name Persian Gulf, to mark the body of water in southern Iran. Furthermore, they had used Arabic names on a few Iranian islands.

Being a sensitive issue among Irainans, this quickly became a hot topic of discussion. Iranian officials condemned this but that did little in convincing National Geographic to correct its mistake. This is where we, the bloggers, came in.

I had heard about and seen google bombs before. In short, a google bomb is a way to influence search results for targetted keywords. I decided to implement one for this issue since everything seemed to be in favor of making it a success; it was an issue that thousands of Iranian bloggers felt strongly about, the term 'Arabian Gulf' was suitable for making a google bomb, and it was a civilized and creative way to voice our objections.

So I made a mock page (+), resembling a 404 error message which said 'the gulf you are looking for does not exist'. I asked other bloggers to link to that page. The response was simply overwhelming. Within a week, hundreds of blogs and websites had taken part and the google bomb exploded, creating a frenzy of media hype. It appeared on an AFP article and Yahoo! News, It also made the first page of BBC news page.

With the help of this media buzz, along with lobbying of Iranian Americans (NIAC) in the US and their meetings with the National Geogrpahic, they finally retreated and removed the 'Arabian Gulf' phrase from their maps and fixed the other errors as well. This was a huge victory, and was perhaps the first time Irainan bloggers united to really make a difference.

Today, a year on, the google bomb is still working, and it is still used as an example of the power of blogs whenever there is a discussion on Iranian blogs.

I have gathered all the news coverage regarding the google bomb below. If the original link is no longer active, you can read the transcript. If you know of any other articles regarding this, please let me know.

• Iran fights to keep gulf Persian
  BBC | transcript


• Iran steps up campaign to keep the Gulf 'Persian'
  AFP | transcript


• Iran's Anger Over a New Map Magnifies a Perception Gulf
  LA Times | transcript


• National Geographic's name for Persian Gulf riles Iranians
  SF Chronicle | transcript


• Blowing up Google: Tailored search results make statements
  GW Hatchet | transcript


• All at sea over 'the Gulf'
  Asia Times | transcript


• Got a beef with the media? Throw a Google bomb
  the Varsity | transcript


• National Geographic's name for Persian Gulf riles Iranians
  Michael Moore | transcript


• Offbeat Photos - AFP
  AFP Photo | transcript


• Ideological gulf inflames Iran
  UK Times | transcript


• Perceived slight stirs Iranians' anger
  Houston Chronicle | transcript


• National Geographic Updates Map in the Wake of Iranian Protests
  Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency | transcript


• The Persian Gulf
  Salon | transcript


• National Geographic updates map in the wake of Iranian protests
  Map Middle East | transcript


• the arabian gulf google bomb
  Persiangulf.org | transcript

• El 'Google Bombing' del Golfo Pérsico
  Googlemania | transcript


• Guerra di nomi sul web per il Golfo Persico
  Corriere | transcript


• Иран отвоевывает Персидский залив с помощью поисковика Google
  Lentra | transcript


• Irāna ar Google palīdzību atkaro Persijas līci
  TVnet.lv | transcript


• L'Iran en campagne
  nouvelobs | transcript


• USA - Iran La guerra comincia dalla geografia
  Ciao Web | transcript


• 伊朗電腦迷轟炸Google
  Sina | transcript


• Google上蒐不到「阿拉伯灣」? 伊朗網友捍衛「波斯灣」
  ETtoday | transcript


• Generation persischer Golf
  Telepolis | transcript

• The newest google bomb
  Zoo Station


• First Iranian Googlebombing
  Links & Law


• Gulf not found
  MetaFilter


• Google Bombing: The Gulf You Are Looking For Does Not Exist!
  Swobodin’s Blog


• Arabian Gulf Google Bomb
  A Welsh View


• Arabian Gulf Google Bomb
  Whos Who in Google Bombing


• Google Bombing?
  Tech Info Blog


• Iranian Bloggers "Google Bomb" for "Persian Gulf"
  INTL news


• New google bomb the arabian gulf - persian
  Google blogging


• Anche i persiani (nel loro piccolo) si incazzano
  Fazera Italia


• Gulf in Understanding
  Harry's Place


• Topic: The Arabian Gulf
  cruel.com