CPS: Racist image was edit of website screen grab

A racist image spoofing the Gentry Middle School website was a screen shot of the school’s home page that had been edited and uploaded to Google, not a hack of the website, a Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman said Wednesday.

“Someone took a screenshot of our web page and then edited it in a photo editing program,” CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said in an email. She said the person who edited the photo “… posted the image as a photo to the Google search engine page.”

Baumstark said Tuesday that CPS was alerted to the presence of the image on a search results page related to Gentry Middle School on Monday. The district reported the racist image to Google, which then removed it.

ABC 17 received an email from a person who included the photo, which looked like the Gentry Middle School website, but was edited to include racist remarks.

The image might have been uploaded to the school’s Google review. Anyone with a Google account can upload images to the search engine’s review feature.

Baumstark said the district has identified “those responsible” and disciplinary action is being taken. However, she said the district is prohibited by law from releasing information about students.

Check back for more on this developing story or watch ABC 17 News at 6.

KMIZ