Google Maps announces major renaming move to keep Donald Trump happy
Google Maps announces major renaming move to keep Donald Trump happy
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Google Maps is set to bow to Donald Trump's wishes by renaming two key features on maps of the US. As per the President's demands laid out in his inaugural speech, the Gulf of Mexico will soon appear as the Gulf of America when using the app, the corporation revealed on Monday. The USA's tallest peak will also benefit from a change, too.
Mount McKinley in Alaska was renamed to Denali in 2015 under the Obama administration to recognise its Native name, and the search engine giants said this too would soon show up on their navigation service. However, the major changes are conditional to government officials making key administrative changes.
The Department of the Interior must update its Geographic Names Information System to effect the change, Google said in an announcement on X (Twitter) on Monday evening. Once done, the company will make the amendments on its app. Posting its statement, Google said: "We've received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.
"For geographic features in the U.S., this is when Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated. When that happens, we will update Google Maps in the U.S. quickly to show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America. Also longstanding practice: When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.".
This means that, for users outside of the States, the changes will no appear and the two topographical features will continue to show under their previous names. Trump claimed during last week's inauguration he would move to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, in a show lambasted by Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum who retorted with a clapback.
