Tasmania has been confused with Tanzania in a story about the Irwins written by an American celebrity news outlet that claims to be the number one source of “most trusted celebrity news.”
The article published by People magazine titled “Bindi Irwin shares photos of her family’s adventures in Tanzania” has not changed since it was published more than two days ago.
“Bindi Irwin is spending quality time with her family in Tanzania,” the first line reads.
“On Saturday, June 22, the Australian television personality, 25, shared a carousel of photos on Instagram from a family vacation to the East African country, tagging the resort where they stayed, Cradle Mountain Lodge, in the last photo”.
Instead of checking the location or the current 29-degree weather in Tanzania, the article goes on to say that the family “spent much of their time outdoors in this East African country.”
The 11,000 kilometer error was picked up by many of the magazine’s followers on social media, who criticized the publication for its blatantly obvious error.
“I’ve been to Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania. It is a long way from TANZANIA,” said one commentator.
“Ummmm Cradle Mountain is in TASMANIA, Australia, not Africa,” said another.
Tasmania’s Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson said the error was unexpected.
“I’m sorry People magazine hasn’t been to Tasmania recently like the Irwins did,” he told the media.
“We are very happy for your stay here in our state. I think People magazine might want to run a second column about how great Tassie is. “The best island in the world.”
Ferguson said the mixed interest is welcome in some ways.
“We get the same kind of questions from our friends in the United States, who occasionally think the Tasmanian devil is from a small island off Africa,” he said.
“And really, it just stimulates conversation (and) makes more people investigate the truth of the matter and fall in love with our state.”
