Apple iPhone's Siri tells British child to 'shut the f*** up'

I think it’s safe to say we were all secretly hoping for a humorous story like this to make headlines at one point, but I never thought I’d see the day. In Coventry, England, Kim Le Quesne is reporting with utter disgust that a display model of the Apple iPhone 4S cussed at her 10-year-old son.

Apparently the son, Charlie, was shopping at a local Tesco with his father when he approached the iPhone 4S on display. Knowing of its famous Siri feature, the child innocently asked Siri how many people were in the world. The phone was unsure of his query, and then said “Shut the fuck up, you ugly twat.”

Yes, Siri swore at the child (allegedly).

Surely by now you are questioning the authenticity of this story as I am, but the mother claims it’s true and she is appalled:

“It’s verbal abuse. We can’t believe the filth it came out with. He showed my husband what the phone had said to him and my husband found the store manager and said ‘it shouldn’t be saying that’.”

The store supposedly promised her husband they would take down the display model, but they returned the next day to find that the iPhone 4S remained completely untouched.

Is this really true? It makes for a pretty interesting story to tell around the dinner table, that’s for sure, but I’m still a bit up in the air about all of this. The only people right now confirming the story are the Le Quesne family. I suppose their word is as good as anyone else’s right now.

What do you think?

[via The Register; photo via Flickr]

About The Author

George Tinari

George has followed technology news for quite some time, but he only started writing about it a few years ago. He's a self-proclaimed Apple fanboy, but that doesn't stop him from covering a wide range of topics in the mobile area. When he's not reporting for IntoMobile, you can usually find George listening to a wide array of music, trying to be funny and sarcastic, eating, or voicing his opinions about all things tech on his personal blog, GT Daily.

aaron

sounds like they want free Apple products
http://twitter.com/osky087 Oscar Sanchez

scam
Doan

Sounds unrealistic to me.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Hoellering/649953679 Robert Hoellering

Not true there fishing for something free.
Slharri

I cry semi-bull**it on this one. However, you can program Siri to call you whatever you want so it’s possible someone programmed Siri to use that response to address it’s Master. The phone coudln’t make that deciscion on it’s on though.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Osman-Hasan-Khan/100000050658245 Osman Hasan Khan

very true
shame on u apple:(
Foralder_84

Sounds like Siri is tired of answering questions.
Michele Nicole

Fake. Responses are pre-programmed. You can only change your name. It wouldn’t add anything like that. People should get a freaking life.
Kingsawyer

Probably a customer playing a prank with an unattended display model. “Siri, my name is ‘shut the f- you stupid t-”
:] Ok, shut-the-f-you-stupid-t
“Goodbye Siri”
:] Goodbye, shut-the-f-you-stupid-t
Mhot702

BS story. Some other shopper programmed it. This is why technology is not for everyone.
Andyclee

NIGGER
Ononomous

Yes it is true you obviously haven’t read the whole of the official BBC article It says that someone set the name as those words as a retarded prank. Whoever wrote this go read the official artocle.
Anonymous

This is true. My Furby is just as abusive.
wtH

maybe siri has her own life… what are we in 2099??
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1408877397 Lauren Glenn

She’s becoming self-aware…..
http://digg.com/users/OmegaWolf Silver Fang

Programming Siri with a swear word for your name is the 21st century equivalent of typing swear words on floor model computers for the next customer to see after you leave.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1156805760 Sam Insomniac

OMG! SIRI, she is alive!
Tony NoName

So Steve was re-incarnated after all in Siri? OMG…. lol…. just knowing those are words only Steve Jobs could get away with in public, because he’s dead. Errrrr…. was til re-incarnating as Siri! …..so obviously that iPhone 4s is POSSESSED by the Evil Megalomaniacal Mind of Steve Jobs!
http://post404.com/ Randall Arnold

I don’t believe it.