Google's incredible market share puts it in a strange position of responsibility, as the world was reminded earlier this month when Google.ps changed "Palestinian Territories" to "Palestine."
Nowhere can this impact on geopolitics be seen better than in Google Maps, a major product into which Mountain View keeps pumping money. While Google does its best to avoid controversy, for example showing multiple territorial claims in the Golan Heights, sometimes they screw up. Other times there is simply no good answer.
In light of reports of an upcoming redesign, we thought it was time to take a look at the most controversial places on Google Maps.
Images from Google Earth sparked protests in Bahrain in 2006 and again in 2011.
Bahrain's oppressed and overcrowded Shiite majority began using Google Maps and Google Earth to view palaces and other estates that make up 95% of the country.
The NYT's Tom Friedman later used these images in a list of "not-so-obvious forces" that fed the mass revolt.
Source: Business Insider
Google was accused of "removing" the country of Georgia from its maps in 2008.
When you searched for Georgia on Google Maps in 2008, you just found a big white space.
There were accusations that Google may have removed the information in a bid to remain "neutral" during the Georgia-Russia crisis — some noted that Google's Russian-born co-founder Sergey Brin might even have something to do with it.
Google responded by saying that they never had any map data for Georgia. At some point in the intervening years, the gap has been filled in.
Source: Foreign Policy
The Israel city of Kiryat Yam was tagged with the name of an Arab village that was there before it.
The information had been uploaded by a Palestinian user of Google Earth in December 2006.
In 2008, Kiryat Yam sued Google for libel due to the tag.
Source: Ogle Earth
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