‘May God curse Israel’s Jerusalem’, ‘Palestine is free. CNN reported on the 24th (local time) that ‘fake place names’ containing anti-Israel messages such as ‘May God forgive us’ are being exposed on Google Maps.
CNN reported that as of this night, it had identified dozens of fake place names in Arabic or English on Google Maps near the Rafah border area. As of the 25th, in the Egyptian area near the border checkpoint on Google Maps, place names such as ‘Abu Adel says, ‘Curse your shame, Israel!” can be found in Arabic.
It appears that the anti-Israel message was posted using a Google Maps feature that allows users to provide information about important places such as businesses and parks. However, they said there is no evidence that Google’s systems were breached or damaged by the creation of these fake place names.
Google told CNN, “We are committed to helping Google Maps users trust information and reducing inaccurate or misleading content,” adding, “We are actively reviewing instances of fake place names (identified by CNN) and are revising our user policies.” “We are deleting the violating content,” he said.
On the same day, Google blocked real-time traffic status services in Israel and the Gaza Strip, where fighting between Israel and Hamas is ongoing. However, routes to specific locations will continue to be provided. Bloomberg pointed out that Google’s action was at the request of the Israeli military. This is interpreted as a measure to prevent the route from being exposed to Hamas in case ground troops are deployed into the Gaza Strip, the base of the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
A Google spokesperson said in a statement, “Considering the safety of the local community, we have temporarily blocked services that provide real-time traffic conditions and congestion information in conflict areas.” Google also blocked real-time vehicle and floating population data on maps when Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.