Numerous posts on social media allege that Palestine has been ‘removed’ from Google Maps, accompanied by images showing Israel without Palestine.
One of the Facebook posts reads: “Google removed Palestine🇵🇸 from Google map
#StopGenocide #Genocide_of_Palestinians.”
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be false.
Searching for ‘Palestine’ on Google Maps, the NM team found tags for the West Bank and Gaza Strip. With a keyword search, we found a report from The Guardian in 2016, stating that Google has never included a distinct pin for Palestine on its maps.
Furthermore, we also found another report by The New York Times, dated back to August 2016.
According to The New York Times, “Supporters of the Palestinian cause accused Google of removing the word ‘Palestine’ from Google Maps. However, Google clarified that the word had never been listed on its maps in the first place. Despite widespread outrage fuelled by social media posts, news reports, and viral videos, Google had not issued any official statements on the matter. An online petition criticising Google for the alleged removal gained significant traction, accompanied by tweets and calls for boycotts. Despite these reactions, Google Maps had consistently not displayed ‘Palestine’ as a geographical label.”
All these reports indicate that Palestine has never been listed on Google Maps.
Therefore, the viral posts’ claim on social media that Palestine has been removed from Google Maps is misleading.
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