Google Maps 'removes' photos of Austria's most-popular landmarks, here's what the company said on deletion

Google has deleted dozens of photos of Austrian landmarks that were added by environmental activists in Austria. These AI-made (artificial intelligence) photos of Alpine lakes and other Austrian landmarks on Google Maps claimed to reflect the potential effects of climate change.

The images, changed using artificial intelligence, showed the river Danube and Austrian lakes dried up and snowless Alpine peaks as though the pictures were taken in the year 2070. They were reportedly put on Google Maps by the Letzte Generation (Last Generation) group.

What Google said on deleting the photos
Google deleted these photos on Saturday (June 22). "Our policies clearly prohibit content that is not based on real experience or does not accurately represent a location. We are removing the policy-violating photos in question," a Google spokesperson told news agency AFP.

What Google policy on phots added by users say
"...posts or edits must be based on real experiences and information. Deliberately fake content, copied or stolen photos, off-topic reviews, defamatory language, personal attacks, and unnecessary or incorrect content are all in violation of our policy. Further, we generally remove full posts (for example, a photo post with a text review attached) even if one part of it is in violation. For more on what is and isn't allowed, go to Prohibited & restricted content. If you find subjective content, such as reviews, media, place questions or answers, or profiles that you believe violate our policies or the law, refer to the Report and fix inappropriate content policy and the Report inappropriate user profile policy to take action," says Google on its policy page for user-generated content.

Responding to Google deleting the images, Letzte Generation told AFO that it was "not very surprised" by Google's action. "They are ignoring the climate catastrophe, just like authorities and big companies in general," said group spokesperson Marina Hagen-Canaval.

The group claimed that earlier it had posted the photos on Google Maps to alert tourists who use the service to prepare their holidays of the risks of rising temperatures caused by climate change.

Letzte Generation has vowed to take more action, including on the internet.