Hello Niantic Team, I am writing to request an urgent review and removal of a Gym located at coordinates 35.176550, 128.818116.
This POI was created with an incorrect photo or does not match the real-world structure at this location, violating the guidelines. Please process this removal as soon as possible to correct the local map.
Thank you for your support
Hello,
First there is no need to use the term urgent. This will need to follow the normal processes.
Can I ask have already submitted a removal request and had it rejected?
This forum channel is for cases where the normal requests have been unsuccessful.
Is the structure still there?
What exactly was the issue with the photo?
You can always submitted a new photo to update the wayspot.
If the structure has gone the team will need to see evidence of this.
So your first step is to use the in game report or you can report via the map.
If those get declined you can then post a screenshot of that decline along with further evidence.
That is a very curious use of “or”, since it suggests you don’t know what the problem is but are guessing.
Aerial images are unclear and there is no streetview, so you will need evidence to get this Gym removed. You have not yet provided any.
To clarify the situation with exact evidence:
The registered name of this Wayspot is “쌍둥이 정자” (Twin Pavilions), and the main photo shows TWO pavilions placed side-by-side.
However, as shown in the real-world photo I provided, there is actually only ONE single pavilion at this exact coordinate (35.176550, 128.818116).
The original submitter used a fake/manipulated photo showing two pavilions to pass the review. Since the photo and title represent a non-existent structure (a pair of pavilions) at this location, this POI clearly violates Niantic’s guidelines regarding invalid/fraudulent photos and locations
Please review the structural difference between the main photo (2 pavilions) and the actual site (1 pavilion) for removal.
Can you say if you have submitted a removal request into the system please.
Staff will require a set of geotagged photos , or video evidence is good.
Since there is a pavilion there it might not meet removal criteria.
It is not clear what has happened during the time between submission in Oct 2019 and now.
I haven’t submitted an in-game request yet. I will go ahead and submit the removal request through the app first as instructed.
Thanks @wooperIooper that is clearer.
The in-game report has been rejected. As explained, the registered photo is fraudulent and belongs to a completely different location, not this coordinate. Could an ambassador or Niantic staff please review this manually and remove it?
I actually agree with the rejection. I also see these structures looking at the satellite view from Apple Maps, as @wooperIooper showed.
I expect that staff would need more evidence, as the evidence we can see does not support your claim.
To clarify using your satellite image:
Left circle: The current coordinate of this Wayspot/Gym (where only ONE single pavilion actually exists).
Right circle: The actual location of the real “Twin Pavilions” (쌍둥이 정자)
The main photo was recently updated to a single pavilion, but the title remains “Twin Pavilions” (쌍둥이 정자). If removal is not the option, please correct/edit the location of this Wayspot to its actual physical spot in the right circle.
To add further context, the real ‘Twin Pavilions’ location already has an existing gym in its proper cell. This wayspot was maliciously created at a fraudulent, incorrect coordinate solely to bypass the cell density rules. Since it is a completely fabricated entry, it should be permanently REMOVED, not moved pls think about this point
Looking at the map, I only see one wayspot. I can see that the pictures of both pavilions have been added to the same wayspot. I would not be surprised if the real twin pavilions nomination was marked as a duplicate.
If it was marked as a duplicate, this is done on purpose (in case you would submit the twin pavilions again, reviewers can see that this was already reviewed as a duplicate)
The wayforward is not to remove the wayspot, as it is still there, and the single pavilion is also a valid wayspot.
I would not have considered it a duplicate, both were valid wayspots.
You can ask the removal of the twin pavilion pictures from the current wayspot, and ask for the titel to be adjusted. But removal would be wrong.
The original nomination was not for the single pavilion. It used the title “Twin Pavilions” and photos of the Twin Pavilions while being placed at a different coordinate. The current Wayspot therefore does not accurately represent the real-world object it was originally submitted as.
If this mismatch resulted from an intentionally incorrect nomination, it would constitute Wayfarer abuse. Simply changing the title and photos to match the single pavilion would preserve a Wayspot that originated from incorrect information instead of correcting the underlying problem.
Therefore, permanent removal is the only appropriate action to resolve this issue and maintain map integrity.
They were both nominated in october 2019, almost at the same time. My guess is that they were flagged as a duplicate, with two locations. This will trigger a review by the community to select which of the two locations is more accurate. Probably the community chose the single pavilion as the best location, but did not decide to change the name.
So I still disagree, this does not look like abuse.
I appreciate your perspective on this!
However, if you check the actual coordinates and the map for the real Twin Pavilions (the right circle), you’ll see that an existing Gym is already occupying that exact cell.
Since the original photo and title match that real location, placing them at this current coordinate creates a conflict with the cell density rules. That’s why I believe a clean removal is the most appropriate step.
To follow the process you can now post the rejection email here.
The wayfarer team will have access to all the details around this submission/wayspot.
@pokemaster4u2 has already made some points to you and you might want to address those in a post here to make your case.
The normal main line of evidence for removal is that geotagged photos of the location are posted. These should include enough evidence of the surroundings to demonstrate the situation. Often a short video helps - you can post a link to a hosting site.
My advice is to keep your appeal very factual.
Staff will then review your appeal and give an outcome.
This is the expected result, since the pavilion exists.
Scopely Explore will not accept a removal report for a wayspot when the POI exists, regardless of the wayspot being incorrectly located (assuming it is safely accessible etc).