MotoGP Issues Apology After Indian Grand Prix Broadcast Shows Distorted Indian Map

MotoGP has issued an apology for displaying a distorted map during one of their live-streaming of its event MotoGP race, the Grand Prix of India, which began on Friday, here at the Buddh International Circuit. The distorted map omitted the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

“We’d like to apologise to our fans in India for the map shown earlier as part of the MotoGP broadcast. It is never our intent to make any statement other than that of support and appreciation for our host country,” it said in an apology post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “We’re excited to be able to enjoy the Indian Prix of India with you and we’re loving our first taste of Buddh International Circuit,” it added.

The controversy erupted when netizens pointed out that the map displayed during live-streaming did not include the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

pic.twitter.com/KuEp4s5B4o — MotoGP__ (@MotoGP) September 22, 2023

“Hello MotoGP, could you please clarify why your live-streaming of the practice session had this map with Bharat’s head missing? If it is a mistake, it needs to be immediately corrected and not repeated again in qualifying and main race. If you think this image is ‘edited’, please provide a feed of the practice session, debunking this claim which is doing rounds on social media,” a user wrote on X.

The MotoGP instantly deleted the map from their social media and sites saying “fixing it ASAP”. The race organisers corrected the map and issued a clarification in response to the public’s concerns.