Hack Puts Edward Snowden in the White House




/ 10 years ago

edwards snow den 1

It seems that Edward Snowden may have finally usurped President Obama and taken his place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A cheeky ‘hacker’ has added the business Edwards Snow Den – purportedly a snowboarding shop – to the grounds of the White House on Google Maps.

Edward Snowden has become notorious since leaking confidential NSA documents, gained through his defense contract employer, that revealed mass surveillance of citizens at home and abroad on a criminal scale, back in 2013. Since leaking the documents, Snowden has been in hiding in Russia – a country he was forced to reside in when his passport was cancelled en route to Cuba – ever since on political asylum for fear of prosecution.

The amusing gag was achieved by getting Edwards Snow Den listed as a verified business and then, once given the thumbs-up by Google, the business changed its address to place it within the White House. Although Edwards Snow Den has had its verified business status revoked by Google, its Google+ page is still active, but Google seem to be actively trying to remove the prank.

Marketing Land, who first spotted the anomaly, had confirmation from Google that the listing had been taken down, but it still appears on a Google Maps search. How long it will remain, however, is unknown, so if you want to see it live, head over there now.

Thank you The Verge for providing us with this information.


Topics: , , , ,

Support eTeknix.com

By supporting eTeknix, you help us grow and continue to bring you the latest newsreviews, and competitions. Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest technology news, reviews and more. Share your favourite articles, chat with the team and more. Also check out eTeknix YouTube, where you'll find our latest video reviews, event coverage and features in 4K!

Looking for more exciting features on the latest technology? Check out our What We Know So Far section or our Fun Reads for some interesting original features.

eTeknix Facebook eTeknix Twitter eTeknix Instagram eTeknix Instagram
  • Be Social With eTeknix

    Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Reddit RSS Discord Patreon TikTok Twitch
  • Features


Send this to a friend
})