Apple Says Southern Lebanon Villages Weren’t Removed From Maps. It Never Had Them

Apple says claims that villages and towns in southern Lebanon were removed from Apple Maps are incorrect, because those locations were never featured on the service, after online users accused the company of removing them during the ongoing conflict.

Users on X and other platforms accused Apple of removing or failing to show towns and villages in southern Lebanon, sharing screenshots of areas including Bint Jbeil, Aita Ash-Shaab, Naqoura, Maroun El Ras and other border communities where labels were absent or harder to find than on rival mapping platforms.

The backlash comes as Israeli continues to occupy southern Lebanon, and the country witnesses continued Israeli strikes, evacuation warnings and mass displacement, making questions of visibility especially important.

WIRED Middle East checked Apple Maps and found that several locations cited in online criticism, including Bint Jbeil and Aita Ash-Shaab, do not appear as labelled towns or villages on the map interface, including at closer zoom levels where nearby roads, businesses and user-generated pins become visible.

In some cases, local points of interest such as salons, restaurants and street names appear before the town name itself.

At closer zoom levels, Apple Maps displays businesses and local landmarks in southern Lebanon, while some town or village names remain less prominent. Credit: WIRED Middle East.