GoKawiil
Tech News
At a South Carolina rally, President Trump said he had personally called Google CEO Sundar Pichai to ask whether Google Maps could rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or 'America.' Trump claimed Pichai declined, reportedly saying oceans touch too many countries to rename, though Trump said he's still considering renaming the Pacific the 'American Ocean.'
At a rally in Highland Heights, Kentucky, President Trump claimed he called Google and that the company 'kisses his ass' now, unlike during his first term. He cited this as evidence of his increased influence, referencing the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario on Google Maps.
Following President Trump’s directive to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, Google and Apple updated their maps accordingly. The controversy has led to increased downloads of alternative map services like MapQuest, which is gaining traction among users dissatisfied with Big Tech’s map modifications. This shift highlights growing interest in non-mainstream mapping options amid privacy concerns and map label disputes.
MapQuest has launched beta support for Android Auto, extending its mapping app to in-car displays on the platform. The move follows a surge in MapQuest's popularity after it kept the name 'Lake Ontario' unchanged while Apple and Google altered references under pressure from President Trump, with MapQuest saying usage rose 50-fold and downloads topped 1.5 million.
MapQuest has launched public transit directions in its iOS and Android apps, with web support coming soon. The feature covers nearly 2,000 cities in 70 countries, offering door-to-door trip planning across buses, trains and trams, real-time departure data for over 350 cities, and station access details.
Following President Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario, a Canadian seller has created a hat reading 'Canada Is Not for Sale' as a direct response. The design borrows the style of Trump's own campaign caps to turn his signature branding against him, while a rival version supporting the 'Lake America' idea has also appeared for buyers on the other side of the debate.
Vancouver's Penthouse Night Club posted a photo of its marquee mocking Donald Trump's comments about renaming Lake Ontario and referencing the algae-filled reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial. Hours after the post went up, the club's Instagram account, @Penthouse47, was taken down, with owner Danny Filippone saying staff noticed the account had vanished around midnight. The account remained offline as of publication, with no clear explanation given for the removal.
President Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, presenting the change with props displaying the new name in his administration's designated official font. The typeface, intended to project formality and authority, drew attention for appearing at odds with the gravity the administration sought to convey.
MapQuest climbed from No. 8 to the top spot on the U.S. App Store this week after declining to comply with an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America,' a change Google Maps and Apple Maps both adopted. Sensor Tower estimates 632,000 U.S. downloads since the order, while MapQuest claims over 1.5 million installs across the U.S. and Canada combined.
Apple has updated Apple Maps to display Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for users in the United States, following a similar change Google made earlier. The renaming stems from an executive order signed by President Trump amid trade tensions with Canada, which altered the lake's designation in the US Geographic Names Information System. Canadian users still see "Lake Ontario," while international versions of Apple Maps display both names.
President Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America,' prompting the Seneca Nation's president to argue the move breaches a treaty dating back 232 years. The dispute has spilled onto social media, where users are also criticizing mapping services like Google Maps for potentially adopting the new name.
President Trump signed an executive order directing the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America,' and the change has already appeared in the database, though the order itself has not yet been formally published in the Federal Register. OpenStreetMap contributors briefly altered the lake's name tag before reverting it, opting instead to add the change as an official_name:en-US tag, mirroring how the platform handled the earlier Gulf of Mexico renaming.