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Bindi blunder by US celebrity website mistaking Tasmania for Tanzania

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Bindi blunder by US celebrity website mistaking Tasmania for Tanzania

Tasmania has had many tourism slogans over the years from ‘Come down for air’ to ‘Go behind the scenery’, but perhaps it should consider ‘not to be confused with Tanzania’.

A major United States celebrity news publication has mistaken Australia’s island state for the East African country after the world-famous Irwin family visited Cradle Mountain, with Bindi Irwin posting images from her family’s trip on her Instagram, which has a following of 5.7 million people.

She made the trip to the Tasmanian national park with her husband Chandler, daughter Grace, brother Robert and mother Terri.

Some of the photos from the Irwin family holiday, which was not in Tanzania.(Instagram: Bindi Irwin)

Attracting global attention, it was picked up by People which touts itself as the number one source for the “most trustworthy celebrity news”.

It published a story about the trip, noting “Bindi was joined by her husband, daughter, mother and brother for the trip to the East African country”.

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People magazine web story about Bindi Irwin.

People’s headline about the Irwin family holiday, which was in Tasmania — not in Tanzania.(People magazine)

“On Saturday, June 22, the Australian TV personality, 25, shared a carousel of photos on Instagram from a family vacation in the East African country, tagging the resort where they stayed, Cradle Mountain Lodge, in the last photo.”

The People article was also posted to its 9.7 million followers on Facebook.

The wildlife loving family are dressed in puffer jackets in front of the iconic Dove Lake, and several social media followers aptly pointed out the current temperature in Tanzania was 29 degrees.

One person wrote “I once had a map of Australia that labelled Tasmania as Tanzania. A lot of people are mistaking the two and still getting paid”.

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Another asked: “Are they on top of Mt Kilimanjaro with a toddler?!?”

Celebrity reach

Those in the tourism business said the gaffe wasn’t all bad news for Tasmania.

Amy Hills from the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania said it would still draw attention to Cradle Mountain as a destination.

“While it appears this an unfortunate mistake, as clearly Tasmania is a long way from Tanzania, in an odd way it gives us an ability to create even more buzz about our iconic Cradle Mountain,” Ms Hills said.

“When influencers like Bindi Irwin share snapshots of our island, especially while enjoying it with friends and family, it has great reach and potential impact.

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“Hopefully those reading the article will visit Bindi’s actual post and see those snow-capped mountains and the iconic cradle landscape, sparking them to investigate their own trip to Tassie, during the winter months.”

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Associate professor Anne Hardy from the University of Tasmania’s school of social sciences said influencers and celebrities had a huge impact on people’s interest in places.

“Millions and millions will see their post, so they have a massive impact,” she said.

She pointed to a summer visit to Cradle Mountain by actor Nicole Kidman.

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“What we can see is when you have an influencers in a particular area, when people go to that area because of the influencer, they often try and mimic what the influencer has done,” she said.

“It has a profound impact on where people go and what experiences they seek.”

Opportunity beckons

Dr Hardy said the Tanzania mix-up could be a problem if people were seeking out an experience they couldn’t find.

“From Tasmania’s perspective there’s a risk they’ll lose tourists to Tanzania, but I think most people are smart enough to work it out provided there’s not a Cradle Mountain over in Tanzania,” she said.

She said Tasmania and Tanzania could work together like a twin-city arrangement.

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“They could have a lost traveller agency if you’ve got travellers over in Tanzania seeking wombats?”

 A social media post promoting an article about Bindi Irwin's family holiday

People’s social media post about the Irwin family holiday, which was not in Tanzania, as has already been pointed out.(Supplied)

Dr Hardy said Tourism Tasmania could turn it into a new campaign.

“Tourism Tasmania is doing some really quirky and humorous marketing at the moment, so this story probably provides them with an opportunity,” she said.

The agency recently unveiled its ‘Odd Jobs campaign’ where it invites tourists to apply for positions to organise oysters and walk wombats.

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“Tourism Tasmania has become synonymous with super quirky marketing, so for me this provides them with another little opportunity and they can turn it around for the state,” she said.

“We’ve always been known as quirky and unusual and this just plays into our brand strength.”

Cradle Mountain in winter.

Cradle Mountain, not in Tanzania.(Deborah Hunter Photography)

Dr Hardy said in all seriousness, the Tasmanian tourism industry was having a more difficult time than usual, with this year’s Dark Mofo festival — a large drawcard in winter — scaled down.

“There hasn’t been as many visitors around, so any quirky, fun stories around the state from people like Bindi will help those operators who would really like more business at this time of the year,” she said.

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“The power of word of mouth and the power of an influencers is super important when people are making decisions on where to do.”

Tourists and sightseers at a coastal lookout.

Tourists take in the view of Wineglass Bay, also not in Tanzania.(Supplied: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service)

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Tasmania’s Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson said he was “sorry People magazine haven’t recently been to Tasmania like the Irwins have, we’re so pleased for their time here in our state”.

“I think People magazine might like to run a second column about how good it is here in Tassie, the best island on earth.”

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Mr Ferguson said he didn’t think it would be damaging for Tasmania’s brand.

“The interest is welcome in the sense that we get the same kind of questions from our friends in America who occasionally think the Tasmanian Devil is from a little island off Africa and it only stimulates conversation and makes people look into the truth of the matter and fall in love with our state.”

Not the first time

Confusion about Tasmania and Tanzania seems common place, and the state’s entry in online encyclopedia Wikipedia is quick to clear up the state is ‘not to be confused with Tanzania’.

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Bill Maher is getting the Mark Twain Prize after all

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Bill Maher is getting the Mark Twain Prize after all

Satirist Bill Maher is this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Maher will receive the award at the Kennedy Center on June 28th. The show will stream on Netflix at a later date.

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Bill Maher will be receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor after all.

There’s been some confusion about whether the comedian and longtime host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher would, indeed, be getting the top humor award. After The Atlantic cited anonymous sources saying he was, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “fake news.” But today the Kennedy Center made it official.

“For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy,” said Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations in a statement. “For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse – one politically incorrect joke at a time.”

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Is President Trump, chair of the Kennedy Center’s board, in on the joke?

Maher once visited Trump at the White House and he tends to be more conservative than many of his comedian peers but after their dinner Trump soured on Maher, calling him a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT” on social media.

Maher’s acerbic wit has targeted both political parties and he’s been particularly hard on Trump recently, criticizing his decisions to wage a war with Iran and his personnel choices.

“Trump said, ‘when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.’ Um, who’s ‘we?,’” Maher said in a recent monologue.

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Past recipients of the Mark Twain Prize include Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy and Carol Burnett.

In a statement released through the Kennedy Center, Maher said, “It is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who’s been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.”

Maher will receive the Mark Twain Prize at the Kennedy Center on June 28. The show will stream on Netflix at a later date.

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What European Luxury Can Learn From American Fashion

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What European Luxury Can Learn From American Fashion
This week on The Debrief, BoF’s Diana Pearl explains why brands like Coach, Ralph Lauren and Tory Burch are outperforming many European luxury houses — and what their turnarounds reveal about pricing, product, retail and long-term brand building.
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Suit asks court to force Trump administration to use ‘The Kennedy Center’ name

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Suit asks court to force Trump administration to use ‘The Kennedy Center’ name

Workers react to the media after updating signage outside the Kennedy Center on Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

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Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio is asking a federal court in Washington, D.C., to force President Trump and the board and staff of the Kennedy Center to revert to calling the arts complex The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The motion, which Beatty filed on Wednesday, asks a federal circuit court judge to reverse the Trump administration and the center’s current board and staff’s decision to call the complex “The Trump-Kennedy Center.”

In the filing, Beatty’s attorneys wrote: “Can the Board of the Kennedy Center — in direct contradiction of the governing statutes — rename this sacred memorial to John F. Kennedy after President Donald J. Trump? The answer is, unequivocally, ‘no.’ By renaming the Center — in violation of the law — Defendants have breached the terms of the trust and their most basic fiduciary obligations as trustees. Shortly after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Congress designated the Kennedy Center as the ‘sole national memorial to the late’ President in the nation’s capital.”

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In a statement emailed to NPR Thursday, Roma Daravi, the vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, wrote: “We’re confident the court will uphold the board’s decision on the name change and the desperately needed renovations which will continue as scheduled.” NPR also reached out to the White House for comment, but did not receive a reply.

In December, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the complex would heretofore be called “The Trump-Kennedy Center.” Although the new moniker was never approved by Congress, the Center’s website and publicity materials were immediately updated to reflect the administration’s chosen name, and the same day as Leavitt’s announcement, Trump’s name went up on the signage of the complex’s exterior, over that of the slain President Kennedy.

Later that month, Rep. Beatty who serves as an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, sued Trump, members of the Kennedy Center board appointed by Trump, and some ex-officio members, arguing that the complex’s name had been legislated by Congress in 1964. Wednesday’s motion is part of that lawsuit.

In a press release sent to NPR on Wednesday, Rep. Beatty said: “Donald Trump’s attempt to rename the Kennedy Center after himself is not just an act of ego. It is an attempt to subvert our Constitution and the rule of law. Congress established the Kennedy Center by law, and only Congress can change its name.”

For many patrons, artists and benefactors of the Kennedy Center, the name change was the last straw in politicizing the performing arts hub. Following the White House announcement of the new name, many prominent artists withdrew planned performances there, including the composer Philip Glass (a Kennedy Center Honors award recipient, who received his prize during the first Trump administration), the famed Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and the 18-time Grammy-winning banjo master Béla Fleck.

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The Washington National Opera (WNO), which had been in residence at the Kennedy Center since 1971, also severed its ties in January after ticket sales dropped precipitously. Earlier this month, WNO artistic director Francesca Zambello told NPR, “We did try as best as we could to encourage [the patrons] that we are a bipartisan organization, but people really voted with their feet and with their pocketbooks. And so we realized that there was really no choice for us.”

On Monday, a coalition of eight architecture and cultural groups also sued Trump and the Kennedy Center board in federal court over the complex’s scheduled closing in July for unspecified renovations. Their suit seeks to have the White House and board members comply with existing historic preservation laws, and to secure Congressional approval before moving ahead with the renovation plans.

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