Lo-rez journalism
Writing for BBC Reality Check, intrepid investigative journalists Christopher Giles and Jack Goodman ask the key question, Israel-Gaza: Why is the region blurry on Google Maps?
What do you mean, dear reader, you weren't aware that it was? It is, and we're here to find out why!
Actually, no, that's a lie. We're here to take the piss out of BBC low-effort journalism.
It's an issue that has been highlighted by researchers using open-source, publicly available information - including mapping data - to locate attacks and document the destruction. "The fact that we don't get high-resolution satellite images from Israel and Palestinian territories sets us back," says Samir, an open-source investigator.
Christopher Giles & Jack Goodman, BBC Reality Check
Yet…
In the latest Middle East confrontation, investigators are looking to corroborate the locations of missile fire and targeted buildings in Gaza and Israel, using satellites. However, on Google Earth, the most widely used image platform, the most recent imagery for Gaza is of low resolution and therefore blurry. "The most recent Google Earth image is from 2016 and looks like trash. I zoomed in on some random rural area of Syria and it has had 20+ images taken since that time, in very high resolution," tweeted Aric Toler, a journalist for Bellingcat.
Christopher Giles & Jack Goodman, BBC Reality Check
There are a couple of points here, neither of which were reality checked
by our dunderhead duo.
Firstly, if the aim is to investigate destruction caused by the conflict, surely the fact that some of the most recent images are five years old is more of a problem than their low resolution?
Secondly, serious researchers would find more immediate, highest-quality images to draw their conclusions, rather than relying on open-source, publicly-available resources which not only have a latency, but may be subjected to editorial or political influence. But that would require financial commitment.
Reality, checked! (tick)