Advertisement
Tech

Google Maps will honor Trump’s ‘Gulf of America’ order—when the government actually implements it

‘Time to change my browser.’

Photo of Katherine Huggins

Katherine Huggins

Gulf of Mexico renamed America and tweet from News from Google 'When that happens, we will update Google Maps in the US quickly to show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America

Google pledged on Monday to change Google Maps to reflect President Donald Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and his reverting Mount Denali in Alaska to Mount McKinley.

Featured Video

“We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources,” Google shared on X.

It said the changes would be visible on Maps once the two names are updated within the government’s Geographic Names Information System, which is run by the Department of the Interior. (As of Tuesday morning, that change has not yet happened.)

“Also longstanding practice: When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name,” Google added. “Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.”

Advertisement

On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali, stating that the “naming of our national treasures, including breathtaking natural wonders and historic works of art, should honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans in our Nation’s rich past.”

While the move has been praised by many of his supporters, the renaming push also proved divisive, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stating Mexico would not honor the change and joking that her country would rename North America “Mexican America” in response.

The change to Mount Denali was requested by Alaska’s state legislature in 1975, nearly a century after the mountain had been unofficially named by a gold prospector in honor of then-President William McKinley. Denali, the name used commonly within the state and given by Alaska natives, was federally recognized in 2015.

And Trump’s reversion to Mount McKinley has been particularly unwelcome to many Alaskans, including the state’s two Republican senators.

Advertisement

“I strongly disagree with the President’s decision on Denali,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in a post on X. “Our nation’s tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial.”

Google’s willingness to adhere to Trump’s controversial order quickly drew backlash from critics of the name change.

“And I will be changing the name of Chrome to ‘Duck Duck Go,’” swiped one critic.

“This is not how this is supposed to work. Time to change my browser, email and search engine,” echoed someone else.

Advertisement

“sheer idiocy by Google,” concluded one person.

“FO Google. You are canceled,” decried another critic.

Another poster remarked that “this won’t be the first time Google has altered its maps to please nationalists,” noting that in Korea, “you won’t see the ‘Sea of Japan’ [because] Anti-Japanese nationalists in Korea convinced Google to change its name to ‘East Sea’ (even if you are browsing in English).”

And someone else posited there is a very specific reason Google is supporting Trump’s naming push.

Advertisement

“Google really, really wants the Trump admin to settle its antitrust cases,” the user theorized.


Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

 
The Daily Dot