Entertainment
How a Monday Night Football mishap may have exposed deep problems with Google Search
For nearly as long as the internet has been around, there’s a particular rhythm for any curious person with a WiFi connection. You have a question, you Google it, you get an answer. But a mishap during this week’s Monday Night Football and the NFL’s onside kick rules has show just how unreliable Google can be these days — and how the search giant can help spread misinformation.
The confusion was sparked by an unfortunate turn of events. During the waning moments of the MNF matchup the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — one of two ESPN games last evening — Bucs star receiver Chris Godwin suffered a gruesome injury with his team trailing by 10 points. Fans wondered why such a star player was on the field at all at when the team was down by two scores with less than a minute remaining in the game.
“We’re just trying to win the ballgame,” Tampa head coach Todd Bowles told reporters. “We’re still down 10, trying to get extra points, kick another onside kick. It just happened.”
That quote, in part, sparked the confusion. You see, the NFL revamped its kickoff before this season and changed, well, everything, including the rules for onside kicks. Surprise onside kicks were effectively banned, for instance, because the new “dynamic” kickoff requires the kicking team to declare to the refs they’re trying an onside kick. Amid all these changes — and the NFL’s penchant for making rules complicated — it tracks that confusion might arise.
Crucially, at one point there was a proposed rule change limiting how many onside kicks a team could attempt. The rule was not adopted — trailing teams can attempt unlimited onside kicks in the fourth quarter — but it did appear in an article in Sporting News that was ultimately corrected. But lots of folks online were under the false impression that, actually, the Bucs had exhausted their onside kick chances and left Godwin in the game despite that fact.
To recap: Viewers reasonably thought the Buccaneers were putting a star player’s health at risk in a hopeless situation, all because they mistakenly believed teams had a limited number of attempts to regain possession. In reality, NFL rules allow the Buccaneers to keep trying late-game kicks aimed at recovering the control of the ball. None of this is easy to understand, but it looks like Google may have made matters worse.
In fact, Google could actually be to blame for all the confusion among viewers. For some reason, Google searches on Monday night resulted in faulty information. After seeing the confusion while watching the game, I searched the rules for myself. Google spat out a clipped answer at the top of the search, citing the corrected Sporting News article, with the wrong information that a team was limited to two onside kicks per game. It’s not clear when, exactly, Sporting News made its correction, so it’s possible Google was slow in simply catching up to a correction made by the outlet. But Google showed me an answer no longer present in the article itself.
Mashable Top Stories
But Google’s AI-powered search — a quite controversial feature — got it wrong as well. Its AI overview told me an NFL team was limited to one onside kick per game. It’s almost funny to not only get the information wrong, but to get it wrong with two different incorrect answers — though it appears the AI overview was different for other users.
Mashable reached out to Google for comment and will update the story if and when we receive a response.
A quite faulty result from Google search.
Credit: Screenshot: Google
Credit: Screenshot: Google
While this situation is relatively low stakes, it is a frightening representation of how quickly misinformation spreads online — especially with Google’s aid. Things move fast. It’s not just random people who get tripped up. For instance, a respected sports publication like Awful Announcing shared the wrong information, which, of course, would confuse more folks scrolling.
Credit: Screenshot: X
It’s not hard to imagine the person running Awful Announcing’s X account doing a quick Google, getting fed false info, then posting it. Ultimately Awful Announcing’s post was corrected — as were Google’s results — but the misinformation had already been spread.
Seasoned NFL reporters and even the guy who invented the new kind of kickoff were getting mixed up.
Granted, it does not help that the NFL has a way of making a terribly complicated rulebook. That opens avenues for human errors that trickle their way into Google’s results.
But do you know what else is complicated and ripe for human errors and fabrication? Politics. International conflict. Climate change. What happens when the familiar muscle memory of Googling can no longer be trusted?
As Mashable has covered in detail, Google search has run into numerous problems lately. The internet is flooded with low-quality content looking to answer common search queries. Court documents and reporting have suggested that perhaps Google has become more focused on ad dollars than reliable search results. And, let’s not forget, AI search overview’s rollout got a pretty disastrous response from the public. In total, it stands to reason that folks should double check anything they Google.
So yes, the rules of an NFL game aren’t terribly important in the grand scheme of things. But the ease with which bad information can spread via Google is much bigger than anything that happened between the Bucs and Ravens.
Entertainment
The Eufy E25 2-in-1 robot vacuum is $400 off at Amazon right now
SAVE 40%: As of July 20, you can get the Eufy E25 robot vacuum-mop combo for $599.99, down from $999.99, at Amazon. That’s a 40% discount or $400 in savings.
$599.99
at Amazon
$999.99
Save $400
As you’ve probably read by now, I have two beagles who love to destroy my floors (particularly right after I’ve cleaned the entire apartment). To keep my sanity intact, I own an arsenal of cleaning supplies, including the Dreame L60 Pro Ultra and the Aero Pro Steam (I call it my “Dreame Team“). But I also know that brand loyalty usually takes a backseat when a really good discount pops up. (Plus, it’s my job.)
Right now, you can get the Eufy E25 robot vacuum-mop combo for $599.99, down from $999.99, at Amazon. That’s a 40% discount or $400 in savings.
Mashable Trend Report
It features 20,000 Pa of suction, empties its own dustbin, and even washes its own mop roller. It also comes equipped with AI obstacle avoidance to dodge everyday clutter (like rogue dog toys), and an extending arm to scrub right up against your baseboards. But, according to some Amazon reviewers, there are a few minor drawbacks, including a louder-than-usual drying cycle and finicky rollers.
Even so, picking a good spot for the base or doing occasional maintenance is a small price to pay to never have to mop your own floors again.
Entertainment
The moments that defined the 2026 World Cup
Every four years, the World Cup reminds us why we fall in love with sports in the first place.
The 2026 tournament was one of firsts. For the first time, three countries — Canada, Mexico, and the United States — shared hosting duties. For the first time, the field expanded from 32 to 48 teams, giving more nations a chance to compete on the sport’s biggest stage and more federations the opportunity to showcase their depth.
That expansion brought historic debuts for Cape Verde, Jordan, Curaçao, and Uzbekistan. Their first appearances delivered some of the tournament’s most unforgettable moments.
It also felt like a farewell tour. Cristiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi. Luka Modrić. Neymar. Son Heung-min. Guillermo Ochoa. A generation that shaped the sport for two decades took one last bow on the biggest stage, with several likely making their final World Cup appearances.
Taken together, those storylines made this World Cup feel bigger than any single match. Over the course of several weeks, the tournament gave us unforgettable goals, shocking upsets, viral celebrations, heartbreaking exits, and moments that transcended soccer altogether. Here are the moments that defined the 2026 World Cup.
Vozinha and the Blue Sharks
The best feel-good story of the World Cup has to be Cape Verde’s historic run and their goalkeeper, Vozinha (née Josimar José Évora Dias). The 40-year-old keeper and Cape Verde stalwart rocketed to international fame after a heroic performance against eventual champions Spain, keeping a clean sheet against the European giants to earn the 500,000-strong nation its first-ever points in a World Cup.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Vozinha, who was on the verge of retirement from club football, blew up on social media, amassing 29 million Instagram followers to become one of the most-followed soccer players on the platform.
The magic kept coming for the Blue Sharks. A 2-2 draw with Uruguay and a scoreless draw against Saudi Arabia secured a second-place finish in their group behind Spain, and a spot in the knockouts. There, the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup knockout round took defending champs Argentina to the brink, including a spectacular extra-time equalizer from Sidney Lopes Cabral. It wasn’t enough — an own goal in the 111th minute gave Argentina the lead, and the win.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Even in defeat, Cape Verde and Vozinha became the darlings of the 2026 World Cup, earning a hero’s welcome when they returned home to Praia, the nation’s capital.
America’s World Cup ends in disappointment and controversy
The U.S.’s lowest moment in the tournament came wrapped in controversy. Folarin Balogun was sent off in the round of 32 against Bosnia-Herzegovina for a tackle that injured Tarik Muharemovic — a red card overturned on review, then reinstated by VAR, that should have kept him out of the quarterfinal against Belgium.
Instead, on the eve of that match, news broke that President Trump had personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino about the suspension, and FIFA’s disciplinary committee — invoking the same conveniently vague rule it used to keep Cristiano Ronaldo eligible for his final World Cup — cleared Balogun to play.
FIFA denied any connection to the call, but the optics were brutal regardless: the first in-tournament suspension reversal FIFA had made since 1962. Balogun’s actual impact on the game was negligible — one good chance in the 82nd minute that Thibaut Courtois saved — and the U.S. lost 4-1, undone far more by sloppy defending than by anything happening off the pitch. But the timing made it impossible to separate the two.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
A team that had looked loose and confident through the group stage and into the knockout rounds showed up tight and rattled.
Insane Third Place game ends Golden Boot race
The World Cup is known for its magnificent scorers: Pelé, Maradona, Klose. It’s rare to see one player absolutely rake in the goals in a single tournament, but 2026 delivered a real fight for the crown. Heading into the final weekend, Messi and Mbappé sat tied atop the table at eight goals each, having both already passed Miroslav Klose on the World Cup’s all-time scoring list along the way. Behind them, England’s Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane lingered at six apiece, two goals back but not out of it.
Then the third-place game happened, and it blew the race open. England beat France 6-4 in a match that had no business being that entertaining for a game “nobody wanted to play.”
Mashable Trend Report
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Instead, it turned into an old-fashioned track meet. Mbappé found the net twice to push his tally to 10, breaking the tie with Messi outright and matching the mark he set back in 2022. Bellingham, meanwhile, kept crashing the box the way he had all tournament and picked up his seventh, cutting the gap to Mbappé to three with only the final left. With that crazy game over, and Spain’s 1-0 win over Argentina, Mbappé ended the tournament as the Golden Boot winner.
The last time this fixture featured multiple Golden Boot winners padding their totals was in 1990, and even that wasn’t a shootout like this one. Between Mbappé and Messi, both represent the first 8+ goal scorers since Gerd Müller scored 10 back in 1970.
We truly are blessed.
International fans experience American baseball
One of the best things about the World Cup is when international fans and players come to town and immerse themselves in local culture. The best subplot from this year’s World Cup was undoubtedly taking place at the ballpark.
With days off between fixtures, traveling World Cup fans started showing up in force at MLB games, and stadiums across the country turned into unlikely satellite fan zones. It kicked off on June 14 at Fenway, when Scottish fans fresh off a win over Haiti marched from downtown Boston straight into a Red Sox game — timed, by pure coincidence, with the ballpark’s own Scottish Heritage Night.
Two days later, the Tartan Army (the nickname for the Scottish supporters) packed part of the upper deck at Yankee Stadium, and by June 22, roughly 8,000 of them turned up in Miami for a Marlins-Rangers game, making up nearly half the announced crowd.
Norway’s supporters did their own version of the takeover at Citi Field on June 24, filling the outfield seats in Viking helmets and getting the stadium’s mascots to join their signature rowing celebration. Even England manager Thomas Tuchel, a generally terse-looking man, threw out a ceremonial first pitch at Kauffman Stadium during the team’s stay in Kansas City. He could definitely strike out Timothée Chalamet in three pitches.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
U.S. visa entry nightmare
For all the goodwill the tournament generated, the road to it exposed something uglier. In the run-up to the World Cup, visa denials and delays became a recurring headache for teams, and in some cases, outright barred people from the competition entirely.
Swiss forward Breel Embolo was blocked from boarding a flight to his own team’s training camp over a year-old conviction that had already been settled back home. South Africa’s delegation nearly missed its trip to Mexico when more than 20 players and staff got stuck waiting on visas, and Iran’s team ended up sleeping in Mexico every night of the tournament after U.S. officials barred its players and staff from overnight stays, with more than a dozen federation staffers, including the federation’s own president, never cleared to travel at all.
None of this happened by accident. It was the Trump administration’s own immigration architecture doing exactly what it was built to do, and the tournament exposed it long before the opening whistle.
The policy wasn’t limited to a handful of unlucky cases: 39 countries entered the tournament under some form of U.S. travel restriction, and for 19 of them the State Department had stopped issuing visas altogether, a list that happened to include four World Cup nations (Iran, Haiti, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal).
Somali referee Omar Artan, freshly named his continent’s top official and set to become the first Somali to work a World Cup match, was detained for eleven hours at Miami International Airport and sent back to Istanbul over alleged “associations with suspected members of terror organizations” that CBP officials declined to specify.
To be fair, Canada has also been just as strict, with Ghanaian fans getting an 11 percent approval rate for visas to the country. Most notably, Ghanaian player Thomas Partey had his visa and subsequent appeal denied and missed Ghana’s World Cup opener due to ongoing criminal proceedings in the UK. Partey, however, was allowed to play in the team’s other group-stage matches in the US.
Through all of this, FIFA, the one body with standing to push back, chose instead to call it a host country’s prerogative.
The world falls in love with Erling Haaland
The most terrifying striker in the world seems to be a completely normal guy. It’s something only Erling Haaland seems to be able to do, with the ruthlessly efficient Norwegian striker netting himself into the Golden Boot conversation alongside Messi and Mbappé.
Off the field, though, the man nicknamed “The Terminator” is a glorified Snapchat shitposter.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
On his personal Snapchat, you can find selfies with Shrek, face filters, and a bit where he wanders around Manhattan in a cap pretending nobody recognizes him. Despite being two years younger than fellow Gen Z superstar Mbappé, the Manchester City striker doesn’t seem to carry the same weight of expectations as his world soccer compatriots. This man is doing photoshoots with cowboy hats and wearing shirts that say “y’all can kiss my Dallas.”
It’s probably why the world can’t get enough of him.
Estadio Azteca
The Estadio Azteca, the home of Mexican soccer, delivered one of the most breathtaking scenes in this World Cup.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The stadium is a historic site not just in Mexico but also in World Cup history. It also made for some great memes. Mexico hosted the World Cup for the third time and, for the first time ever, won all three group-stage games. The vibes coming off El Tri and its fans were at an all-time high — probably the only thing higher than the altitude at Estadio Azteca, which became a running joke all tournament long.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Entertainment
Everything we expect from Samsung’s July event (Fold 8, watches, and glasses!)
Samsung’s next big event could reveal foldables, smartwatches, and its first Android XR glasses.
on
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!
The Eufy E25 2-in-1 robot vacuum is $400 off at Amazon right now
Valkyries seek 10th straight win in rematch with Mystics
