Google queries about the death of former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack’s brother this week have prominently displayed details about his suicide in AI summaries at the top of search results pages.
Paul Flack died aged 55 after being found unresponsive at his home, six years after his sister took her own life.
Google searches for “Caroline Flack brother” over the past two days have resulted in his method of suicide being displayed in the first section of the AI Overview, at the very top of the page.
This is in breach of reporting guidelines by mental health charities Samaritans and Mind, which are also included in the UK Editors’ Code.
The issue was first spotted by Reach SEO and Discover director Nicola Agius who said that on Tuesday night, after seeing an Instagram post stating that the brother of former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack had died, she searched for “Caroline Flack brother” on Google to see if it was true.
“Google generated an AI Overview that didn’t just confirm his death – it stated, right at the top of the SERP, that he had died by suicide,” Agius wrote on Linkedin.
“The AIO also included the location, the exact method, and even the specific effect that method had on his body which would have caused his passing.
“Google then broke the incident down into sections with subheadings such as ‘Discovery’, detailing how he was found.
“This goes against media guidelines given by incredible organisations like the Samaritans…
“Google, please think twice about how your AI handles sensitive subjects.”
Press Gazette generated a similar AI Overview in Google on Thursday morning. With the same search term, the first two paragraphs of AI summary (above publisher links) stated the method of suicide. This was then repeated, with further detail, in the first extra line that appears after the “show more” button is pressed.
Although the details used originated from publisher reporting, they are rarely made as prominent in a news story as they have been in some AI summaries.
In addition, it appears the details may have been removed since first publication in some cases. The Times, one of the sites cited by Google for the suicide method and cause of death, did not feature any of those details in the linked story by Thursday morning.
However the Daily Star continues to list the provisional cause of death (including the suicide method) in the subheading directly under the headline. Metro, which is cited alongside The Times in an AI Overview on the cause of death, lists it in the third paragraph of its story.
The Samaritans media guidelines on reporting suicide urge publishers to: “Avoid reporting methods of suicide in articles, such as describing someone as having died by hanging, particularly in headlines.”
Similarly, mental health charity Mind states: “It’s important to avoid mentioning specific suicide methods or locations. Doing this can be triggering. It can encourage people to follow this behaviour, and put others at risk.”
Lois Sparkes, head of safeguarding at Mind, told Press Gazette: “It is incredibly worrying – and disappointing – to see some press coverage and AI overviews including references to methods of suicide. This is not in line with Mind and Samaritans reporting guidance, not least because the full inquest is not until October.
“Not only can these AI summaries be incredibly triggering for people to see so prominently, but in some instances, there is little signposting to mental health support.
“Broadly, AI overviews give an illusion of definitiveness – they make highly sensitive and nuanced areas seem like concrete fact. If AI overviews are covering news, then they must be regulated to the same standards of traditional media – which they are currently not.
“Companies that profit from AI overviews should have more resources dedicated to preventing harmful information and making sure that the information they provide is accurate and in line with industry-standard reporting guidance.
“Right now, safeguarding measures don’t match the scale of the companies making money from them. We need to see more accountability taken to protect members of the public from harmful content.”
Press Gazette has asked Google for a comment.
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