Type 'anti-national' on Google maps, JNU comes up

In a completely bizarre yet shocking development, search giant Google has landed in a boiling soup after its 'Google Map' application has been showing the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) under the key word 'anti-national'.

A screenshot of Google Maps on Android showing JNU under the keyword search anti-national.

As of Friday afternoon, if you type the word 'anti-national' into the search bar on Google maps, Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is what the search engine throws up

It's unclear whether this is a hacker's sense of humour - or the lack thereof, depending on your point of view, of course - or whether it's deliberate on Google's part.

You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that some students of JNU have recently been officially accused of being 'anti-national'. A section of Indians and the Indian government have also insisted they are.

JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and two other JNU students were last month arrested for sedition and jailed. All three were given bail earlier this month, on separate days.

They were charged with sedition for organizing an event on campus about the 2013 hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. It was alleged that some students, including the three arrested ones, raised anti-national slogans during the event.

Google Maps search for anti-national takes you to JNU

A lot of eminent people said that Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is the hub of anti-national in India and apparently Google agrees with them.
If one searches for 'anti-national' and ' sedition'on the world's premier navigation service Google Maps, it directs you to JNU.

A search for 'anti-national' on google Maps.

Is it time for some 'Google se azaadi' slogans?
This could be a bug in Google's algorithm or just how it works but it is surely something that is bound to irk the students of JNU.

JNU as "anti-national" on Google Maps? Google India says it is aware of the issue, working to fix it.

— Javed Anwer (@Javed_Del) March 25, 2016

Cyber law expert Pawan Duggal said, "It is a mistake of computer networks and is an unintentional blunder." 

A search for 'anti-national' on Google Maps Android App.

The story of JNU and the term 'anti-national' began when JNU Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and other students like Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattachary were present at an event at the campus on February 9 where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. All 3 later got bail as videos proving this were found to be doctored.

Google India told to IndiaToday.In that they have no hand in it. "We're aware of the issue and are working on a fix," a Google spokesperson said.

Last year in the US, the Google Maps was edited to show White House if someone searched "Nigger House" in the app. Google had apologised for that. "Some inappropriate results are surfacing in Google Maps that should not be, and we apologise for any offense this may have caused," A Google spokesperson had said.

As a damage control, the company also briefly shutdown the Google Mapmaker tool, which allowed anyone to submit a map edit or map information. This was the tool that was used by vandals to link White House to a certain keyword. It seems that in the case of JNU too, the vandals are probably using the same Mapmaker tool.

While Google has a few checks and balances in place in Mapmaker, most of the processes are automated, which allows people to make inappropriate map edits. The company is aware of the misuse of the tool. But it also finds the tool very valuable as it can crowd source the map data and fix local map errors quickly.