Google Maps Reflects Trump Admin's Renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America
Google Maps has begun rolling out changes to reflect the recent decision by President Donald Trump's administration to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. The move is part of Google's policy to follow official government sources, which in this case includes the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). According to GNIS, for users within the United States, the lake will now be referred to as 'Lake America', while those outside the country will see both names with 'Ontario' taking precedence.
The changes follow a similar move last year when Trump signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Google Maps also reflected this change by displaying different names based on the user's location. The company uses various factors such as device type, SIM card, and network to determine a user's country location.
Not all mapping programs are taking the same approach, however. MapQuest has stated that it will continue to display the lake as 'Lake Ontario' for all users, regardless of their location.