Palestine Removed From Google Maps? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Claim

Claim

Google has removed Palestine in its latest update of Google Maps.

The archived version of the post can be seen here.

Fact

Newschecker ran a search for “Palestine” on Google Maps, where the map zeroes in on the Israel-Palestine region. The Gaza Strip and West Bank territories are labelled and marked by dotted lines while there is none for Palestine.

We then ran a keyword search for “Google Maps removes Palestine update”, which led us to this Google Help page with the same query on June 13, 2024, where multiple users have replied that it is a misconception and that Palestine has not been taken off the map as it was never labelled on the map in the first place.

“Palestine can be found by searching for it. It’s just the label that’s missing…This is nothing new. Some countries officially recognise Palestine as a state, but many don’t (including the US). Leading to difficult labelling decisions,” read a recommended answer, while another said the West Bank and Gaza are labelled. “There have been controversies around how Google depicts the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including settlements and some Palestinian communities. Palestine is recognised as a state by the United Nations and many countries, but not by Israel and some others. This complexity makes map labelling a sensitive issue,” read another recommended answer.

The answers led us to a USA Today Fact-Check report, dated May 22, 2021, addressing the claim that Google does not have a Palestine label on its maps. According to the report, a Google statement via email clarified that the company does not label Palestine’s borders since there is no general agreement on the bodies that make up its territory.

“Palestine is recognised as an independent state by the United Nations and more than 135 of its members, but it is not recognized by the U.S., according to History. The United Nations considers it a single occupied entity, but the official borders are undetermined, BBC News reported,” as per the USA Today report.

Newschecker learnt that Google has been earlier accused of removing the name Palestine from its popular map service when in 2016, a Change.org petition claimed that all mention of Palestine “was removed at the insistence of the Israeli government.

We were then led to this New York Times report, dated August 11, 2016, on how supporters of the Palestinian cause denounced Google online then for allegedly removing the word “Palestine” from Google Maps, although the company stated that the word had never been there in the first place.“There has never been a ‘Palestine’ label on Google Maps, however we discovered a bug that removed the labels for ‘West Bank’ and ‘Gaza Strip,’ ” the company reportedly said in a statement, adding, “We’re working quickly to bring these labels back to the area.”  Elizabeth Davidoff, a spokeswoman, said in an email to the New York Times that the company had also never used the label “Palestinian territories” on its maps.  A similar Washington Post article, dated August 9, 2016, states how Google Maps didn’t delete Palestine then as it hasn’t changed its labelling of the region at all. Google’s website clarifies: “Disputed boundaries are displayed as a dashed gray line. The places involved don’t agree on a boundary,” further proving that the viral claim is a misconception.

Also Read: Video Of Fire In Karachi Falsely Linked To Pakistan Train Hijack

Source
Google Search Help
Google Maps Help
USA Today report, May 22, 2021
New York Times report, August 11, 2016
The Independent report,  July 17, 2020