Google Maps hit by wave of offensive name changes in Warsaw
On Sunday evening, users of Google Maps in Warsaw found landmarks renamed with vulgar and provocative labels, including the Presidential Palace as 'Pałac Kibolski'.
What happened
On the evening of Sunday, 5 July 2026, users of Google Maps in Warsaw noticed that many well-known landmarks had been given new, often offensive names. The Presidential Palace became "Pałac Kibolski", the National Security Bureau was renamed "Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Kibolskiego", and the Saxon Garden turned into "Ogród Suski". The changes appeared without warning and were visible to anyone using the mapping service.
- Mass changes to place names appear on Google Maps in Warsaw.
- Most incorrect names are removed, but some remain visible.
- CERT Polska reports 78 cases to Google.
- Google Poland states it is removing names and blocking accounts.
Scale and examples
By Monday morning, CERT Polska had identified and reported 78 altered names to Google. The list included state institutions, museums, parks, shopping centres, and sports venues. Some names referenced Nazi Germany: the Warsaw Uprising Museum was labelled "Muzeum Powstania III Rzeszy", and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was linked to the SS. Others were vulgar or personally targeted President Nawrocki, whose past was invoked in the "kibolski" label. The changes drew widespread condemnation on social media, with commentators calling it an attack on historical memory.
Response from Google and authorities
Google Poland's press office told Fakt that the company was "continuously removing inappropriate names" and "blocking the accounts responsible", adding that it "rigorously enforces our content policies". CERT Polska reported the issue to Google's moderation team overnight and continued monitoring the situation. The National Police Headquarters said it had not received any formal complaints about the incident.
We are continuously removing inappropriate names assigned to many locations in Poland on Google Maps. We block the accounts responsible and rigorously enforce our content policies.
The CERT Polska team made numerous reports of the problem to Google's moderation during the night. Some names have already been corrected. We are currently monitoring the situation.
Possible causes
Deputy Minister of Digitization Dariusz Standerski said on Monday that, according to current information, the incident was "not any attack or organized action" but likely an exploitation of a bug in the application. Google Maps allows any user to suggest edits, which are then verified by an algorithm. The scale of the changes suggests that the verification process failed to catch the offensive content.
According to current information, it was not any attack or organized action.
Previous incidents
This is not the first time Google Maps has been used to vandalise place names in Poland. In late April 2026, the name of the Smolensk Air Disaster Monument was changed to a mocking phrase. That earlier incident, like the current one, raised questions about the platform's moderation safeguards.
