Fury after Microsoft translates Daesh as Saudi Arabia

Microsoft, facing calls for a boycott, said it quickly fixed the error and was investigating
Microsoft, facing calls for a boycott, said it quickly fixed the error and was investigating
DAVID RAMOS/GETTY IMAGES

Microsoft is facing a fierce backlash in the Gulf after its online app Bing began translating “Daesh”, an Arabic acronym for Islamic State, as “Saudi Arabia” in English.

Furious Saudis took to social media to rail at the American technology giant, calling for a boycott under the hashtag “Microsoft insults Saudi”. They shared videos of the glitch which first appeared on the translation tool last week.

Tagging Microsoft’s Saudi Arabian office and Bing in a post, one Twitter user, Mohamed al-Sheqa’a, wrote: “The Saudi people in one voice: Bing has been boycotted.”

Another called on the entire Islamic world to join the protest.

“Every Muslim must boycott Microsoft . . . Saudi Arabia is fighting terrorism in all its forms,” tweeted Tallal al-Harbi.

A third