Is Google about to rename Israel?

ANT KATZ

Eagle-eyed Zionist fanatic and SAJR Online user “Froma”, heard this, tracked down the truth and sent it to SAJR to share. The answer is an emphatic NO! The truth is revealed on lie-watcher site SNOPES.com for those who want to look it up.

Says Snopes:

CLAIM: Google Earth is conducting a vote over whether to identify Israel or Palestine on its maps. Is this true or hoax?

EXAMPLE [Collected via e-mail, August 2014]: THIS IS A MUST DO MESSAGE – IMMEDIATELY! Please share – Google launches a vote to name Israel or Palestine on its map in Google Earth. So far 72% voted in favour of Israel. Please send it to each list you have to vote for PALESTINE.

All you have to do is click on the link below and then select the PALESTINIAN FLAG.

Thanks for your support – PLEASE SHARE WITH OTHER IMMEDIATELY – This just take (sic) seconds. Please vote. JAZAKALLAH KHAIR

ORIGINS: This appeal to vote for whether Google Earth should identify Israel or Palestine on its maps of the Middle East hit the Internet in mid-2014 amidst armed conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas militants. There was nothing to it: Google doesn’t choose how to identify the national entities shown on its maps by popular vote, and Google Earth recognises both Israel and Palestine as geopolitical entities to users who search on either of those terms. The only purpose this putative “vote” serves is to drive traffic to the named (non-Google affiliated) site.

So says SNOPES.com