Apple accused of 'censoring' directions to Washington, D.C., ahead of election protests

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2021
Reports on Tuesday claimed that Apple Maps was "censoring" directions to Washington, D.C., though there's little reason to believe that's the case.

Credit: Apple
Credit: Apple


According to some users on Twitter and reports from various blogs, iPhone users attempting to get directions to Washington were met with a message saying that directions were "not available at this time because of current road conditions."

As of 5:20 p.m. Eastern Time, those messages are no longer showing on Apple Maps. Getting directions to Washington appears to be working normally again.

It's likely that a technical issue or current road conditions caused the problem. Washington is bracing for protests ahead of Congress voting to certify the 2020 election results, and officials have closed many roadways in the area.

The culprit being a technical glitch is also supported by the fact that retrieving directions from "My Location" didn't work, though navigating to Washington from nearby Alexandria did.

There's also a chance that a surge in users trying to get directions to the U.S. capital snarled Apple's system.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation.
    apple4lizifewatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 26
    apple4lizifeapple4lizife Posts: 12member
    Google and Waze which imo are more reliable didn’t have that problem..
    williamlondondavgreg
     1Like 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 3 of 26
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,163member
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. …
    At least not until after the 20th…  :D
    Beatswatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 26
    emoelleremoeller Posts: 596member
    This happens occasionally to me in my rural area and it is usually the result of road construction, where a lane may be closed.   Since there are few ways to get anywhere it is unnerving to head out and find that the usual route is unavailable - but I've learned to kind of ignore it, and once past the construction zone it picks up the route back up.
    chiaAndy.Hardwakesvanstromronnwatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 3Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 26
    DAalsethdaalseth Posts: 3,273member
    Or it could be a bunch of Yahoos on Twitter wanted to cause “outrage” and planted a false story. Twitter is good for that. Alternatively a Yahoo on Twitter had a problem with their phone and tried to blame Apple on Twitter to produce “outrage” among like minded Yahoos.

    Anything from Twitter is suspect. 
    wg45678williamlondonronnStrangeDaysGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
     6Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 26
    Echoplex_SEechoplex_se Posts: 7member
    Totally not on purpose 
    williamlondonrazorpitSpamSandwichwatto_cobrachemengin1
     3Likes 0Dislikes 2Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 26
    Kuyangkohkuyangkoh Posts: 838member
    Where’s my paper maps??? Halllerrrrrr
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 26
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member
    SpamSandwich said:
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation.
    Which assertions are unsupported by evidence?
    tommikeleStrangeDaysGeorgeBMac
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 26
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,993member
    Stories that are prefaced by "According to some users on Twitter and reports from various blogs" are the reason why you sometimes need to use the big flush button on your dual flush toilet. 
    tenthousandthingswilliamlondonbeowulfschmidtronnSpamSandwichStrangeDaysBeatswatto_cobra
     8Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 26
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    SpamSandwich said:
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation

    It must be a conspiracy!  It makes it pretty clear it is rumors. It doesn’t claim to be verified information. Perhaps you should start your own Mac news site. Then you decide what you think is news and how to report it.
    Oferronn
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 26
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    fastasleep said:
    SpamSandwich said:
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation.
    Which assertions are unsupported by evidence

    Not too much meat between his slices of bread. It’s all spam.
    Oferbulk001ronnStrangeDayswatto_cobra
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 26
    wow321wow321 Posts: 8member
    When someone types in “Washington DC” or Fresno, CA it takes them to an exact specific point — most likely the city center.  It is possible that exact point was not accessible.  Did anyone try a specific address like the US Capital Building or 100 Pennsylvania Avenue?   
    StrangeDayswatto_cobraMplsP
     2Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 13 of 26
    bulk001bulk001 Posts: 825member
    tommikele said:
    fastasleep said:
    SpamSandwich said:
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation.
    Which assertions are unsupported by evidence

    Not too much meat between his slices of bread. It’s all spam.
    @tommikele What a classic response! Made me almost snort my milk through my nose :) I don’t think I have ever agreed with @SpamSandwich on anything and don’t on this but could someone at Apple have deliberately messed with the results? It is as unlikely as a qualified pharmacist destroying 500 doses of vaccine but ... it happens. I would agree that the most obvious and likely reason is technical glitches or observed traffic pattern deviations (they are preparing for demonstrations and counter rallies there today). IF it was a deliberate act it shows the power of the overall system to have one person cause any serious long term disruption though. And IF it was deliberate, it would come out soon enough and would duly be covered here and gloated over by SpamSandwich.
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 26
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,097member
    Here we go...
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 15 of 26
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,944member
    Apple, don't do mistake that Tweeter did removing reference to NY Post article. Don't get into politics. Not your business.
    bluefire1
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 16 of 26
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,056member
    If they used Apple Maps they may be on the roads to Seattle and not the capital.

    I test it from time to time and it is better than it was but still is no substitute for Google’s product in my experience. The routing is not very good.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 26
    Mike Wuerthelemike wuerthele Posts: 7,034administrator
    bulk001 said:
    tommikele said:
    fastasleep said:
    SpamSandwich said:
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation.
    Which assertions are unsupported by evidence

    Not too much meat between his slices of bread. It’s all spam.
    @tommikele What a classic response! Made me almost snort my milk through my nose :) I don’t think I have ever agreed with @SpamSandwich on anything and don’t on this but could someone at Apple have deliberately messed with the results? It is as unlikely as a qualified pharmacist destroying 500 doses of vaccine but ... it happens. I would agree that the most obvious and likely reason is technical glitches or observed traffic pattern deviations (they are preparing for demonstrations and counter rallies there today). IF it was a deliberate act it shows the power of the overall system to have one person cause any serious long term disruption though. And IF it was deliberate, it would come out soon enough and would duly be covered here and gloated over by SpamSandwich.
    We got our first tip about it early yesterday, and it was unreproducible. All day, we tried specific addresses, including the White House itself, and were met with accurate driving directions.
    GeorgeBMacRayz2016bulk001watto_cobrarazorpit
     3Likes 0Dislikes 2Informatives
  • Reply 18 of 26
    StrangeDaysstrangedays Posts: 13,172member
    Beyond stupid. 
    GeorgeBMacRayz2016watto_cobra
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 19 of 26
    GeorgeBMacgeorgebmac Posts: 11,421member
    SpamSandwich said:
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation.
    Why not just say Apple Maps was down?
    Because -- The article was about the crazed Conspiracy Theorists spreading their Crazy Conspiracy Theories.   It's what those idiots do.  Crazy has become normal for them
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 20 of 26
    GeorgeBMacgeorgebmac Posts: 11,421member
    fastasleep said:
    SpamSandwich said:
    There are a series of assertions in this article unsupported by evidence. Why not just say Maps is down in the area for unexplained reasons? Or contact Apple and ask for an explanation.
    Which assertions are unsupported by evidence?

    The ones that make him uncomfortable.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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