Google is celebrating July 4th and American independence with a new animated Doodle, viewable only in the United States. The search engine replaced its official logo on its homepage with a star-spangled logo formed from an acoustic guitar and the words “This Land Was made for You and Me.” The words come from lyrics in the popular Woody Guthrie folk song, “This Land Is My Land.”

Under the patriotic Doodle, which is in America’s national red, white and blue colors, Google users will see the search engine’s own declaration of digital independence. The declaration reads “Celebrate freedom. Support a free and open Internet.”

When users click on the declaration’s hyperlink, they’re taken to Google’s “Take Action” page. It features a one-minute video that spotlights quotes about life, liberty and the pursuit of digital democratization from well-known political figures, past and present, and everyday citizens.

The search engine has also posted an American flag made up of quotes on its Take Action page. The flag has been released into the public domain, so that users can copy, modify and distribute it without permission.

Google has been celebrating American Independence Day with a Doodle since 2000. There have been 16 different Doodles celebrating the date since its launch, as there were four in its inaugural year.

Written by: Karen Benardello

Independence Day Google Doodle

By Karen Benardello

As a graduate of LIU Post with a B.F.A in Journalism, Print and Electronic, Karen Benardello serves as ShockYa's Senior Movies & Television Editor. Her duties include interviewing filmmakers and musicians, and scribing movie, television and music reviews and news articles. As a New York City-area based journalist, she's a member of the guilds, New York Film Critics Online and the Women Film Critics Circle.

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