Google’s sorry that this crudely offensive image of the Apple logo turned up in Maps

By Andrea Peterson and Brian Fung April 24 at 12:05 PM

Google Map users scoping out Pakistan on Friday may have stumbled on something pretty rude: The mascot for Google's mobile operating system, Android, urinating on the Apple logo.

Apple's iOS and Android are bitter rivals in the mobile space -- but Google didn't include this particular image, versions of which are popular with Android fan boys, in their map product on purpose.

Google Maps relies on a feature called Map Maker that lets users around the world update it. This helps the company use local knowledge to keep up with ever-changing infrastructure. Those changes are theoretically reviewed by other users and a moderation team.

But it seems as though Google isn't keeping a super close eye on all of the changes -- as evidenced by another message found nearby.

It's unclear how long the images have been up, but a Google spokesperson said the company is working to remove them.

"We’re sorry for this inappropriate user-created content; we’re working to remove it quickly," Google's Mara Harris said in an e-mailed statement. "We also learn from these issues, and we’re constantly improving how we detect, prevent and handle bad edits." The vast majority of users who edit Google Maps provide "great contributions," Harris said.

This isn't the first time Google Maps has been used by pranksters: Just last week, someone added a listing for "Edwards Snow Den" in the White House -- an apparent reference to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who pulled the curtain back on government surveillance programs.

And one Massachusetts man has been trying to use Google Maps as part of his quest to get a local island named after the rapper Busta Rhymes for years. (It currently is labeled as such by the service.)

But the openness of Google Maps can also have more serious consequences. Security researcher Bryan Seely was able to intercept and record calls meant for the FBI and Secret Service merely by changing the number listed for some office locations in the product, Valley Wag reported last year.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled security researcher Bryan Seely's name as Brian. We regret the error.

Read more:

The story behind Jar’Edo Wens, the longest-running hoax in Wikipedia history

In E.U. antitrust suit, Google is up against ‘a tough cookie’

A new landscape for Google Maps: The human body

Andrea Peterson covers technology policy for The Washington Post, with an emphasis on cybersecurity, consumer privacy, transparency, surveillance and open government.

Brian Fung covers technology for The Washington Post, focusing on telecom, broadband and digital politics. Before joining the Post, he was the technology correspondent for National Journal and an associate editor at the Atlantic.