BP has purchased sponsored links that appear at the top of Google and Yahoo's search results for terms like "oil spill" in its attempts to improve its public image in the wake of its massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP's PR problems are severe. U.S. President Barack Obama said this morning that he's talking to experts so he can determine "whose ass to kick."

The outrage has been particularly clear on the web, where a fake Twitter account was set up to mock BP's PR efforts, and nearly half a million Facebook users have rallied behind "boycott BP" pages. One design firm even put together a Firefox extension that blots out all the web's mentions of BP with oil stains.

Companies buy sponsored links (which are clearly labeled as such) at the top of search results so their side of the story is the first a member of the public sees when he or she searches for information. The links at the top of the Yahoo and Google results link to BP's "Gulf of Mexico Response" page, which hosts articles and videos explaining how BP is trying to resolve the environmental crisis.

The satirical BP Twitter account is running wild with this news, publishing mock tweets like "We're paying Google a lot of money to make sure you only have access to the best possible info on the oil spill: our info," and, "By the way, we made it so if you google image search "oil spill" or "bp" you'll see some great celeb sideboob pics. #bpcares."













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