Hong Kong education authorities have voiced concerns about a series of pranks involving the renaming of schools on Google Maps, causing incorrect names to appear on other platforms like Uber.
On Thursday, the Education Bureau reported that several schools had their names altered on the popular map service by pranksters.
“[We] learned that some schools have already contacted the platform requesting a prompt correction. Some school names have been restored to normal,” said a bureau spokesperson, adding that the bureau will continue to monitor the situation and maintain communication with affected schools.
One of the schools targeted was Buddhist Tai Hung College in Cheung Sha Wan, which pranksters renamed “Nobi Nobita College” after the fictional character Nobi Nobita from the Japanese manga Doraemon. The name prank stemmed from a similarity in the Chinese characters of the school’s name, Tai Hung, to the character’s name.