Google Maps accused of HIDING military base in US for eight years sparking frenzy

But the tech giant has come under fire after it failed to update its Google Maps satellite pictures of a military site where experimental weapons are reportedly tested in southwestern Nevada.

The area in question is a series of dry lake beds in the Tonopah Test Range where extensive military weapons testing has reportedly taken place. 

Between 2008 and 2016, Google did not update the satellite imagery of this area, which is the longest period a stretch of the continental US has gone without an update, according to a Motherboard investigation.

The Test Range is located about 70 miles northwest of Area 51 facility – a popular centre for conspiracy theories.

And people have been quick to accuse the government of censoring the location.

One concerned Twitter user said: “Something is definitely not right about that, what is going on there?”

Another said: “Hiding ground for aliens for sure.”

Since the early 1950s, the range has reportedly been used for government aerospace and weapons testing.

Google Earth updates are normally issued every 30 days.

To try and find out if government censorship was taking place, Motherboard was able to purchase a satellite image of the dry lake beds in Tonopah taken in January 2013. 

The publication planned to sell the image to Google for $1, to see if the company would then add it into its records. 

If Google refused, Motherboard reasoned, perhaps that would indicate government censorship was at play at that time for this particular area in Nevada.

However, Motherboard later learned that it had only legally “leased” the image and could not sell it to Google.