Put away the tinfoil hats

Why does Georgia appear as a blank space in between Turkey and Russia on Google Maps? The New York Times explains:

 

Several reports suggest that data from Georgia and the neighboring countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan has been stripped from Google Maps. One story says that “the relevant maps went blank as soon as fighting broke out,” according to the Azerbaijan Press Agency.

Google says that’s not so. While its Web maps shows only the outlines of those three countries — without roads or even the capital cities marked — Google says that the lack of information is not new.

More here.