I think that’s a British thing.
Nope. Confusing various different tenses of the two separate verbs "to lie" (meaning "to repose") and "to lay" (meaning "to place down") is an ignorant thing.
Probably started because the Imperfect Tense of the verb "to lie" is "lay" - which can be mistaken for the Present Tense of the verb "to lay."
Still inexcusable!
Regards,