ChaCha answers for teens and others issued an apology for "inflammatory answers," found through the ChaCha text service and Iris app.
A problem arises when guides who work from home, have only 140 characters to answer tough questions that many people have to answer for themselves.
The motto of the company is "Powered by People" and it looks like people are only human, opinionated and can make mistakes.
"We sincerely apologize for this incident. We are taking this issue seriously and are making every effort to provide answers which comply with our company policies."
We have known for a while that when girls first get their periods they go to ChaCha first for advice. It was referred to at an MMA seminar as a wonderful marketing opportunity for tampons and pads. How far across the deceny line did ChaCha guides go?
The controversy occurred with ChaCha's voiced sister Iris who answered the question "Is abortion wrong?
"Yes, abortion is wrong," shows up in a YouTube video by Right Wing Watch. "The Lord has said, 'You shall not murder.' Exodus 20:13. The life that is growing within the mother is a child, a baby. The Bible looks at the life in the womb as a child. Thanks!"
The announcer attributes the misinformation not to Iris but to Verizon's Droid.
"Are whites superior to blacks?" Iris was asked by a tech blogger and answered, "Whites are NOT superior to blacks. Just different. Like Dr Verwoerd and the original, genuine policy of apartheid always said," Iris answered, referring to Hendrik Verwoerd, a former prime minister of South Africa.
ChaCha has already taken action in regards to anti-Semitic answers about Jews which we will not repeat and have changed the abortion answers.
The latest abortion right/wrong answer is "Some people believe abortion is wrong because all human life is sacred. Others argue that it is wrong to bring an unwanted child into a harsh world, or that 'life' doesn't begin at conception, or that other considerations are also important. There is no one simple answer."
Some recent ChaCha quizzes include:
- Woman or Drag Queen?
- Are these boobs real or fake? Vol. 2
- Real Movie or Porn?
"ChaCha is not presented as 100 percent [true] ... to have all the correct answers," Shawn Schwegman, ChaCha marketing officer said, "We're really an entertainment service ... don't take everything we say as gospel."
Many of the top galleries on ChaCha have the word sex or female anatomy in the title:
- Terrible Places to have sex.
- Pretty dildos,
- Creepy sex toys.
- Spicy sex spots.
- Silly sex dolls.
- Nicknames for knockers.
Meanwhile, the question that baffles Siri over and over again is answered on the ChaCha homepage.
If a woodchuck could chuck wood How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A woodchuck could chuck 582 cords of wood a day if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
It looks like ChaCha uses a system where answers are rated by readers, then served up as answers.
ChaCha's answer to What is love? Love - a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person.
What is the best religion? The Hindu religion has the most followers, but there is no "best" religion. I personally believe Christianity is the best faith!
When you ask Siri "Where is God" she sends you to a church.
When you text ChaCha, "What is God?" The answer is " That's a deep question to try to answer in a text message. The best I can say is "Follow your heart!" And keep doing the ChaCha!"
The problem we think is like Google search results, that answers are no longer checked by a live person. Algorithms don't know what God or good taste are.