Special / Google tells 11 lakh children every year Santa isn't real: Report

It's a question most of us have asked at one point in our lives -is Santa real?

Today's children aren't looking to their parents for an answer, but are turning to Google and the search engine is shattering the shattering the illusion.

A report found that 1.1 million children learn online that Saint Nick is a fictitious character, as the first article in the search says 'as adults we know Santa Claus isn't real.'

When searching 'Is Santa real' the first article that is displayed comes from Quartz, which provides parents with advice on how to answer the question .

And the introductory sentence of the article reads: 'As adults we know Santa Claus isn't real.'

Speaking to experts in Google search results, Stephen Kenwright, Technical Search Engine Optimization director at Rise at Seven, states that 'Google is ranking this article on Quartz as the no.1 result based on the authority of the domain and reliability of the content.

'Google's algorithms choose the answer which bests answers the question searched, taking safety into consideration all whilst being factually accurate.'

This means sites that get referenced in the press most often – other national media, and Wikipedia – because they are the safest answers to display.'

Google may be ruining millions of childhoods, but many smart personal assistants have been designed to provide different answers.

The results found that voice search technology responses are more considerate and creative when it comes to their responses to the query, neither confirming nor denying the truth.

Alexa will reply with: 'All I know is that someone has been eating mince pies and Father Christmas looks like the type.'

While Siri seems to dance around the question.

'That's something I am not allowed to disclause. I mean…disclose.'

And Ok Google shares: 'If Father Christmas gave me a present, I wouldn't ask any questions.'

The search data gathered also reveals that there are on average 186,900 searches for 'How old is Santa' and 182,300 for 'Where is the north pole' every year too. 47,700 are looking for answers regarding elf's existence and whether they really exist and whether reindeer can actually fly (3,900).

Faisal Nasim, Private tutor and founder of Exam Papers Plus, says 'For many children, the unknown is enough to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

Teachers and tutors worldwide are careful with what they say regarding Father Christmas, and it'd disappointing to find that our students and children are being told he is not real by just a quick look on Google online.

Although more and more children are using voice search technologies within their homes and for homework - millions of Children still us Google online to explore and ask questions. We are calling for Google to look into this, and be a bit more creative with their choice of rankings regarding this query'.