--- title: Refugee, Migrant Crisis Inspires Fake Google Site description: Google fortune telling site raises awareness about refugee, migrant crisis on the borders in Europe canonical: https://time.com/4040996/fake-google-fortune-telling-refugee-crisis/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-18T21:06:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:49.620Z og:title: This Trick ‘Google’ Site Is Bringing Attention to the Refugee Crisis og:description: To raise awareness about an important cause og:url: https://time.com/4040996/fake-google-fortune-telling-refugee-crisis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Trick ‘Google’ Site Is Bringing Attention to the Refugee Crisis twitter:description: To raise awareness about an important cause twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Trick ‘Google’ Site Is Bringing Attention to the Refugee Crisis ## Video: A Desperate Crossing [Watch (HLS stream): A Desperate Crossing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Chck0kIJ.m3u8) (3:24)  _Published 2015-09-09. TIME gets exclusive access to the Greek coast guard as they search for, and rescue migrants_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 18, 2015 9:06 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 18, 2015 9:06 PM UTC To get millennials to turn their attention to the refugee crisis facing Europe’s borders, one satirist tries to explain the situation using technology they can’t turn away from for long: Google and its apps. [The site](http://betagoogle.com/) tricks them into trying out a “fortune-telling” Google app, but as people start typing, a computer finishes their sentences with the kind of queries they should be making, such as questions about where these individuals will be relocated and whether they will be united with their families. Then this screen appears, directing people to donate to charities and spread the word to people they know:  _Read next:_ [_Refugees Turn to Croatia as Their New Entrance to Europe_](http://time.com/4039283/refugees-germany-croatia-serbia/) ### See How Syrian Refugees Journey From Serbia to Hungary  Subotica, Serbia. August 11, 2015\. Three young Afghans trying to reach Germany stand near an abandoned brick factory in Subotica at the Serbian-Hungarian border. Serbia is the last country that stands between them and a European Union member state, Hungary. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families, mostly from Aleppo, are placed in a refugee camp in Vasariste near the Serbian-Hungarian border. After a day to recover, they will walk and attempt to cross the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families, mostly from Aleppo, in a refugee camp in Vasariste, near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. A prosthetic leg in a refugee camp near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. A child in a refugee camp near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. A child in a refugee camp near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. A Yazidi family from Iraq near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Subotica, Serbia. August 11, 2015\. The "Jungle" where migrants live, near the town of Subotica at the Serbian Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Subotica, Serbia. August 11, 2015\. Migrants live in an abandoned brick factory near the town of Subotica at the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families, mostly from Aleppo, are placed in a refugee camp in Vasariste near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families, mostly from Aleppo, are placed in a refugee camp in Vasariste near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Vasariste, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families, mostly from Aleppo, are placed in a refugee camp in Vasariste near the Serbian-Hungarian border. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families walk at night toward the border to attempt to cross it. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families walk at night toward the border to attempt to cross it. A woman gives medicine to young children exhausted by days and weeks of walking. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families walk at night toward the border to attempt to cross it. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families wait for nightfall to walk toward the border to attempt to cross it. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families wait for nightfall to walk toward the border to attempt to cross it. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families wait for nightfall to walk toward the border to attempt to cross it. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families wait for nightfall to walk toward the border to attempt to cross it. Jerome Sessini—Magnum  Horgos, Serbia. August 12, 2015\. Syrian families wait for nightfall to walk toward the border to attempt to cross it. 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