It is very much by design. In school world geography is mostly skimmed over. Especially how the invisible lines change with time - how many people realize Iran = Persia? More insidious, though, is what I've seen on the news recently (this was FOX). They will show a map so far zoomed into Iran that there is no context as to where it is geographically. There are barely any labels. For somebody who already knows you'll recognize the horn of africa, and Saudi Arabia, the eastern portion of the Mediterranean, etc. but the news intentionally hinders understanding.