Manipulation in Google Maps: Mahsa Amini Hotel and Pahlavi Street
The name of Vali Asr Street in Tehran on Google Maps has been changed to its former name, Pahlavi Street.
At the same time, other changes such as a hotel named Mahsa Amini can be seen on Google Maps. It is unclear who made these changes on Google Maps; however, it is possible that the renaming was done by Iranian activists.
Creating changes in Google’s results by Iranian activists has a precedent. For instance, in 2004, following National Geographic’s use of a name other than the Persian Gulf, Iranian activists used a Google bomb method to create a page that would appear when searching for the alternative name for the Persian Gulf. The page stated, ‘The gulf you are looking for was not found. No body of water with this name has ever existed. The correct name is the Persian Gulf, which has always been Persian and always will be.’