Google Maps reflects disputed territories differently for different users, such as Kashmir and the Sea of Japan, to remain neutral. Google’s Street View team has mapped over 5 million miles since 2007, using various methods to reach inaccessible areas. Scientists discovered a new area in Mozambique using Google Earth.
Google Maps isn’t just a navigation tool, it’s also a kind of magic mirror, reflecting certain parts of the world differently for different viewers.
For example, if you live in India and search for Kashmir, you will find the mountainous region clearly designated as part of India. But leave the country and take another look, and the dark border surrounding Kashmir becomes a dotted line, indicating Kashmiri ownership is in question.
This is how the world’s largest search engine works to get around the fact that Kashmir has been a disputed territory for more than seven decades, claimed by both Pakistan and India.
It’s also how Google tries to have universal appeal for every user. The same kind of ambiguity can be found elsewhere. Take the Sea of Japan, for example. This is the name most Google Maps users will see when they search for the body of water that separates South Korea and Japan. However, if you cross the border into South Korea and take another look, the name of the body of water becomes the East Sea, which is what South Korea has asked it to be called since 1992.
For its part, Google says it’s not taking sides and is doing its best to provide map viewers with an accurate picture based on its local government’s perspective. “We remain neutral on matters relating to disputed regions and borders and make every effort to objectively display the dispute in our maps using a dashed gray boundary line,” Ethan Russell, director of product management for Google Maps, said in a statement.
Mapping a new world:
Google’s “Street View” team has traveled more than 5 million miles (8 million km) since the project to map every street began in 2007.
For areas that can’t be reached by car, Google uses snowmobiles, trikes, and even carts to take photos.
In 2005, scientists using Google Earth discovered a previously unknown area of northern Mozambique; it is commonly called “Google Forest”.
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