Iphone's Siri describes Israel as a 'Zionist occupation state'

Asked on Saturday who the president of Israel was, Siri - available to Mac, iOS, Apple Watch and Apple TV users - replied 'the President of the Zionist occupation state'

MENA

1 min read

�� & agencies

20 January, 2020

Apple have not yet commented on the matter [Getty]

Israeli social media erupted in outrage this weekend after videos of Apple's Siri were shared showing the built-in virtual assistant describing Israel as a "Zionist occupation state", when asked who the president of that country was.

According to a Business Insider report, Apple users searching the name "Reuven Rivlin" - the president of Israel - were met with the blunt description.

The president is Israel serves largely in a ceremonial role with the prime minister - currently Benjamin Netanyahu - leading the country's government.

Apple explained that the response from the built-in virtual assistant was mostly likely due to "vandalism" of Rivlin's Wikipedia page, the source of Siri's "knowledge", which can be edited by users.

Israel-based Channel 12 reported that on Saturday an anonymous user named "The Arab Man" hacked the Wikipedia page and made the edit to the president's biography.

Wikipedia appeared to have fixed the problem when Siri was asked the same question on Sunday, when the response was reverted to "Rueven Rivlin is the President of Israel".

Apple has not yet responded for comment.

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