CNET reports today on something that seems to be happening on Google Finance when you enter the word “sell” in the Google Finance search box, i.e., the first result to anyone typing in “sell” is that you see Apple’s less-than-impressive stock chart. First noticed by a Reddit reader, it has caused some conspiracy theorists to get a little heated, but CNET’s own Danny Sullivan, a well-known Google-watcher and the proprietor of Search Engine Land, has investigated the matter thoroughly, and after initially thinking that there might be something strange going on, he has finally concluded that due to the fact that typing in “Sells” also gives the Apple chart as a search result, it is less likely that this is something deliberate from Google. CNET reached out to Google for comment, and in response, Google rep Jason Freidenfelds told them the following:

“This isn’t deliberate - our algorithms seem to be keying off of the words ‘sell’ and ‘sells’ in the description of this very popular stock symbol. We’re working on how to adjust things so it doesn’t happen anymore.”

Many thanks to Super Moderator KevinJS for the heads-up on this story.

Source: Type 'sell' into Google Finance and take a bite out of Apple | Mobile - CNET News