Google Adsense — or should that be Google Adinsensitive?

From the Guardian‘s Letters and blogs

The online Sydney Morning Herald of March 14 took the advert targeting issue, as discussed recently in Technology, to another level altogether. A report of a gruesome assault in a Sydney park was headed “Woman’s nose bitten off”. A link was provided – “Ads by Google” – to “Safe Cosmetic Surgery” from London. “Request a free brochure online now!” it urged, sensing there wasn’t a moment to lose.

Harold Lewis, Cobham

Thanks to Kevin Cryan for spotting it.

The Adsense logic engine produces weird results. When I’ve blogged about the quagmire in Iraq, for example, it often comes up with recruiting ads for the US Army. And whenever I write about the iniquities of the copyright thugs of the RIAA and the MPAA, Google invariably produces ads from legal firms offering their help in “protecting your intellectual property”.