Microsoft Issues Apology for Changing Race in Web Site Photo

Polish Version

Oops. In what seems to be an incident related to the ethnic homogeneity of Poland, a photo on Microsoft's Polish site was altered, from showing a black man to showing a white one.

Microsoft has since apologized for the change, which drew much criticism online. However, it did not offer an explanation for the change.

If you look at the same photo on the Microsoft's U.S. Web site see two men, one Asian and one black, and a white woman seated at a conference room table.

U.S. Version

Look at the same photo on the Web site of Microsoft's Polish business unit, and the black man's head has been replaced with that of a white man. Strangely, the color of his hand was unchanged.

In a statement Tuesday, Microsoft spokesperson Lou Gellos said:

"We are looking into the details of this situation. We apologize and are in the process of pulling down the image."

Microsoft has since modified the image on the Polish site to match the U.S. site. However, while the fact that the second man's hand was unchanged is strange, it's also strange that the Asian man was not also redacted, if it's all about Poland's homogeneity. Speaking to someone I know that was born and raised in Poland (my wife), Asians are very rare in Poland as well. They are more prevalent than blacks, however, though they are limited to isolated communities in Warsaw or Krakow.