Google 'Eliminated' Palestine from Google Maps?

In June 2024, a declare circulated on-line that Google had “eliminated” Palestine from Google Maps:

This X post (archived) had gained 252,300 views as of this writing. “Google, #PutPalestineBack on the map!!! Please share #GoogleMaps,” somebody replied. The declare additionally appeared on a public Google Help forum and unfold on TikTok (archived), with several different videos accumulating tens of millions of views:

This declare, which is fake, isn’t new. In 2016, Google was accused of eradicating Palestine after a glitch made the Gaza strip and the West Financial institution disappear. The Guardian coated the story and gave extra context: 

A Google spokeswoman stated: “There has by no means been a ‘Palestine’ label on Google Maps, nonetheless we found a bug that eliminated the labels for ‘West Financial institution’ and ‘Gaza Strip’. We’re working rapidly to deliver these labels again to the world.”

But a search on Google Maps with the phrase “Palestine” creates an animation on the map that goes straight to Israel.

Standing of Palestine

In actuality, Google Maps doesn’t embody “Palestine” as a result of whereas a lot of the nations of South America, Africa and Asia recognize it as a state, a lot of the West nations, Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, Panamá, Australia and others Ido not. The latter group of their majority favor a two-state resolution, which might result in an eventual recognition of Palestine, however their situation is {that a} Palestinian state needs to be the results of direct negotiations between Israel and a nationwide Palestinian Authority.

In consequence, Google treats the Palestinian territories — Gaza and the West Financial institution — the identical manner it does different disputed territories: with labels and dashed gray borders:

(Google Maps)

These disputed territories embody the Golan Heights on the north of Israel and to the west of Syria (see map above). Israel seized this space in 1967 in the course of the Six-Day Conflict and annexed it in 1981. Whereas the U.S. and Israel acknowledge it as Israeli territory, the remainder of the world considers it Syrian territory underneath army occupation. 

Different Disputed Territories

One other disputed territory that seems as such in Google Maps is the Crimean Peninsula, south of Ukraine, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014 and has occupied since then:

(Google Maps)

In 2020, Google was accused of adjusting the borders of Jammu and Kashmir, a territory in dispute between Pakistan and India. From Pakistan, the territory appeared as disputed. From India, it appeared as Indian. In response to The Washington Post (archived):

Both sides claim the Himalayan outpost as their very own, however Net surfers in India could possibly be forgiven for pondering the dispute is all however settled: The borders on Google’s on-line maps there show Kashmir as absolutely underneath Indian management. Elsewhere, customers see the area’s snaking outlines as a dotted line, acknowledging the dispute.

These numerous examples present that maps are inherently political. Removed from being merely descriptive, they’ll form our understanding of the world.

In 2021, we debunked a rumor that claimed Google Maps was holding a vote on whether or not to establish Israel or Palestine. 

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