Map fail: News show puts Germany in wrong spot
A Spanish television station has been left with egg on its face after misplacing several European countries on a map used in a report on Ukraine's crisis.
The error by local TV channel Telemadrid came during a segment examining the possible effects of the crisis in the Ukraine on Europe's gas supply.
The story featured interactive graphics to demonstrate Ukraine's position as a supply hub for the transport of gas from Russia to the rest of Europe.
But the Europe map used by the public broadcaster contained a number of glaring errors.
While Ukraine was in its rightful place on the map, the colorful graphic shifted both Germany and Poland one step to the east. The result had the Federal Republic of Germany in the position usually occupied by Poland while Poland found itself in Belarus.
Poor Belarus, meanwhile, had ceased to exist,
"Not since the fall of the Berlin Wall has Europe seen such a radical change to its borders," wrote commentators on the website Salevemos Telemadrid, a web page dedicated to defending the employees of Telemadrid.
In early 2013, Madrid's local government announced the broadcaster would shed 861 jobs, or around 70 percent of its total workforce.
The case is now set to go before Spain's Supreme Court after a long legal battle.
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The error by local TV channel Telemadrid came during a segment examining the possible effects of the crisis in the Ukraine on Europe's gas supply.
The story featured interactive graphics to demonstrate Ukraine's position as a supply hub for the transport of gas from Russia to the rest of Europe.
But the Europe map used by the public broadcaster contained a number of glaring errors.
While Ukraine was in its rightful place on the map, the colorful graphic shifted both Germany and Poland one step to the east. The result had the Federal Republic of Germany in the position usually occupied by Poland while Poland found itself in Belarus.
Poor Belarus, meanwhile, had ceased to exist,
"Not since the fall of the Berlin Wall has Europe seen such a radical change to its borders," wrote commentators on the website Salevemos Telemadrid, a web page dedicated to defending the employees of Telemadrid.
In early 2013, Madrid's local government announced the broadcaster would shed 861 jobs, or around 70 percent of its total workforce.
The case is now set to go before Spain's Supreme Court after a long legal battle.
Don't miss stories about Spain, join The Local on Facebook and Twitter.
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