Tech

Trump Tower: Google Maps Temporarily Lists Trump Tower As 'Dump Tower'

Niyati S.
First Posted: Nov 29, 2016 04:20 AM EST

In a comical turn of events, someone renamed the Trump Tower in New York as "Dump Tower" on Google Maps. Google had earlier disabled its Map Maker feature in November. This move was an attempt to discourage its misuse by internet jokesters or "trolls". However, one such troll successfully used a tech loophole to edit the name of the building.

If you searched for Trump Tower on the Maps, you would be redirected to the pinned location of "Dump Tower" instead. However, the renamed spot was only visible after zooming in on it in a certain manner. The building name also displayed in Russian Cyrillic when zoomed in at another angle. The latter may be a symbolism for Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia in his presidential campaign. This change was first reported by Google Maps user in their social media feeds. 

As soon as this faux pas surfaced, it was corrected by the vigilant team at Google Maps. In a press release to New York's PIX11, the Google Maps spokesperson addressed the issue. They stated that the team had taken immediate corrective measures to sort the situation. They also apologized to anyone offended by such third party pranks. 

However, this was not the end of the joke. Another property, namely the Trump International Hotel & Tower was renamed as the "Dump International Hotel & Tower". This was reported merely hours after the previous listing first hit the headlines.

President Donald Trump, who is quite vocal on social media, has not addressed the issue yet. As for the identity of the troublemaker, nothing clear has surfaced. Some believe it was an insider prank pulled off by Google's very own employees. This allegation may hold some merit as the listing is only finalized after an employee approves of it. 

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