Netflix reportedly manipulated its search algorithm after mass backlash against French film Cuties

Last year, Netflix was criticised for the promotional material it released for Maimouna Doucouré directorial Cuties. While the message of Doucouré's film was about the hypersexualisation of young girls, the poster Netflix released did not echo the same. According to several news reports, the streamer had then manipulated the outreach of the film in order to minimise the backlash.

The Verge procured internal documents that said that the PR crisis can be managed by "suppress[ing] promotion and related search queries." The report says that Netflix mandated the film to be removed from the "coming soon" and "popular searches" categories, and even tweaked the algorithm so that search terms like "cute" would not furnish the title in the results. The algorithm was also adjusted so that the search for the film would not show “steamy / sexual titles or kids’ movies."

Commenting on the issue, a Netflix spokesperson told The Verge: "Our recommendations help members find great titles to watch amidst all the choices on Netflix. Not every title gets promoted in the same way, just as every member’s homepage is different."

The controversy against Netflix regarding the promotional poster had begun with a Change.org petition demanding that Cuties be removed from the streamer's library. The petition called the film "disgusting as it sexualizes an eleven-year-old for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles and also negatively influences our children.”

Netflix had apologised for the poster and said it was not "representative" of the film, and the promotional material had been updated. 

Cuties had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last year, and was lauded for its subject. The story follows an 11-year-old Senegalese-French girl caught between her traditional upbringing and her desire to be a part of a dance crew at her school.