Apple’s Siri faces condemnation for not recognizing Palestine time
Apple Inc has been facing global condemnation after a TikTok star’s video showing how Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, did not recognise Palestinian areas went viral.
In the video, Mayanora, known as Mindful Traveller on TikTok, decided to show how Apple’s Siri discriminates against Palestinians by asking for time in Palestine and different Palestinian cities.
Siri didn’t recognize the time there, saying it has no idea.
However, when she decided to ask for the time in ‘Israel’, Siri had an answer for her.
Mayanora asked Siri about time in Israel, “Hey Siri, what time is it in Israel?” Siri replied, “In Jerusalem, Israel, it’s 13.20.”
Mayanora asked, “Okay, hey Siri. What time is it in Palestine?” Siri replied, “I have no idea what time it is there?”
The TikTok user then asked Siri if it recognised various Palestinian cities.
She asked, “Hey Siri, what time is it in Ramallah, Palestine?”
Siri again replied, “Sorry, I don’t know what time it is in Ramallah.”
The TikTok star asked, “Hey Siri, what time is it in Hebron?” As expected, Siri once again replied, “I have no idea what time it is in Hebron.”
Determined to expose Apple’s biases against Palestinians, the TikTok user said, “Okay, let’s try something.” She asked, “Hey Siri, what time is it in Jerusalem?” Siri had no problem stating that the time in Jerusalem was 15.32.
However, even the TikTok star did not mention ‘Israel’, Siri said in its reply, “Jerusalem, Israel.”
Mayanora asked, “Hey Siri, what time is it in East Jerusalem?” Once again Siri replied, “I have no idea what time it is in East Jerusalem. Sorry about that.
Mayanora then commented in exasperation, “You are not sorry.”
Watch how @Apple has wiped #Palestine – including East #Jerusalem and #Bethlehem – from the map. Thank you @mindfultraveller pic.twitter.com/8Q0hamwRlf
— tim anderson (@timand2037) November 22, 2021
The video has gone viral with users demanding an explanation from Apple.
Others called for Apple’s boycott for its bias with ‘Israel’.
The Siri thing is disappointing but not surprising as the US is one of the few countries (Germany, Japan etc etc) that does not recognise Palestine as a state.
Both Google and Apple Maps do not have Palestine as the borders are still contested. pic.twitter.com/OEnwKNonHs— Erna 'Team Volcano' Mahyuni (@ernamh) December 2, 2021
I have tried on my personal #iPhone @Apple #Siri doesn’t tell #Palestine time.@WoodwarddianneJ @Palestine_UN @hrw @UN @dwnews @AJEnglish @CNN @marwanbishara #iPhonesucks https://t.co/Akce0jbT7e
— Zeeshan Ayyaz (@TheZeeshanAyyaz) December 2, 2021
How big tech is complicit in crime against #Palestine. @Apple 's Siri has wiped Palestine from map & doesn't know Palestinian cities including East Jerusalem and Bethlehem !
pic.twitter.com/WZalG8Gylh— Nour Naim| نور نعيم (@NourNaim88) November 24, 2021
Hey @Apple Siri seems to be lacking some knowledge on #Palestine https://t.co/PazTH5a6oY
— KP (@KP198408) December 1, 2021
@Apple .. how come Siri has no idea about Palestine, tell her it's occupied and will be free soon . #FreePalestine https://t.co/4CH2MyF1FG
— Mina Dahmani (@MinaDahmani2) December 2, 2021
lol i just tried this on my end and yes: it appears that @apple has coded siri be able to tell the time in any and every israeli city, but to refuse to give the time anywhere in palestine https://t.co/HmEyIZMrgw
— denton "the lobster is wearing mittens" cohen (@d_nt_n) December 1, 2021
This is not the first time Apple has found itself facing criticism over not labeling or recognizing Palestine.
In 2020, Apple was accused of deleting Palestine from its online map.
Searching for Palestine on Apple Maps shows an outline for the Gaza Strip and West Bank territories, but no labels for Palestine.
Palestinians say they are discriminated against digitally from a number of different online platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Palestinians are no strangers to such restrictions on social media and applications as the latter have been deleting and deactivating the accounts of Palestinians and pro-Palestine advocates and not recognizing Palestine.
Sada Social Center, a Palestinian digital rights organisation specializes in protecting Palestinian narratives on social media platforms and monitoring violations, documented more than 1200 violations against Palestinian content during 2020 only.
Thus, fighting the pro-Palestine content and Palestinian existence on the online platforms by their administrations has become very common lately.
Morover, suppressing and fighting the pro-Palestine content and erasing Palestinian existence have been in coordination with the Israeli occupation government and security agencies.
For example, according to the Intercept’s 2021 investigation regarding Facebook’s content moderation rules silencing criticism of ‘Israel’, the policies govern the use of “Zionist” in posts not only on Facebook but across its subsidiary apps, including Instagram.
“Facebook claims that their policy on the word ‘Zionist’ is about Jewish safety,” Dani Noble, an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace who reviewed the rules, told The Intercept. “But, according to their content policy excerpt, it seems Facebook decision-makers are more concerned with shielding Zionist Israeli settlers and the Israeli government from accountability for these crimes.”
In 2016, Israeli occupation government and Facebook agreed to work together to determine how to tackle incitement on the social media network, as a senior Israeli cabinet minister said at that time.
In October, 2021, the Intercept also revealed that Facebook has a secret blacklist, upon which its algorithms depend on censoring content. The blacklist includes dozens of Palestinian figures and organizations while no Israeli targets.
