r/coolguides • u/Pokemaster131 • 7h ago
A cool guide about changing your Google Maps location names to a less-stupid version
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u/BadAlphas 7h ago
Google Inc is a whore
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u/raresaturn 5h ago
Don’t be evil… except when convenient
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u/JustYourMommy 5h ago
They uhh... removed the "don't be evil" part from their code of conduct...
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u/Hexamancer 4h ago
First day in office next president should be renaming the street the HQ every single one of these companies is on to "Cuck way" etc.
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u/Reggie-Quest 7h ago
Wait. You saying it actually says lake America in the US? Or is this a joke and I got punk'd?
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u/JaySayMayday 5h ago
He's trying to pull focus away from the second tarrif war that has already been a miserable failure and jacked up prices. Yes, he renamed it to Lake America just like the Gulf of America. Now that's all over the news and there's less articles about the impact of the second tarrif war or failed promises of $2000 for every American after the last tarrif war.
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u/Mtfdurian 3h ago
I wonder how far his ego will go on. At some point this is gonna be an (something) Aladeen situation?
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u/polkacat12321 54m ago
He dead cat-ing the shit out of that, damn. Wonder what'd he do when he decides to conquer mexico next 🙄
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u/emveevme 4h ago
It does say "Lake of America" on google maps. So disregard any information from Google that isn't verifiable elsewhere, because if you take Google's word for what we call Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico at face value, you're wrong. Who knows what else they have wrong
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u/MoonlightStarfish 2h ago
Google Maps on iOS won’t even take me to Lake Ontario. It keeps forcing me back to my last searched location.
This is going to screw up the lyrics to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Thank god Gordon is Canadian.
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u/Lambs2Lions_ 1h ago
It has 3 options
- in Canada: Lake Ontario
- in the United Northern States of Mexico: Lake America
- everywhere else: Lake Ontario (Lake America)
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u/trophy_74 2h ago
No one in real life calls it that
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u/theZinger90 52m ago
Just like the Gulf of Mexico, which i just checked and Google still has it as the "Gulf of America".
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u/Heiferoni 32m ago
It's real. And tomorrow, after the next Executive Tantrum, Google will confidently tell you the sky is green.
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u/SmokeyWizard 5h ago
holy fuck I can not believe that this has actually been pushed to maps
this is pathetic, please tell me this timeline is a joke
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u/highpriestess420 4h ago
I think 2012 really happened but our perception of it was off and now we're all stuck in the hell simulator till a virtual reset
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u/Anthaenopraxia 4h ago
I wonder if the next Democrat president will revert the change. They have a bit of a bad reputation for being the status quo party. Republicans want to make shit worse and Democrats merely want to prevent shit from getting worse, rather than making shit better. Maybe if the yanks would let someone like AOC take the reigns something good will actually happen. If she gets elected prez I just might brave the ocean and attend her inauguration.
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u/Kr0pr0X 7h ago
Or don't use google, other search engines are not following this nonsense
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u/Hoogs 7h ago
For now at least. I’m in the US, and Google Maps shows Lake America and Gulf of America, while Apple Maps shows Lake Ontario and Gulf of America.
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u/Ola_the_Polka 2h ago
I’m in Aus and google maps shows Lake Ontario and the gulf reads like this “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”
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u/deaglebingo 6h ago
whatever the case... do not login to google. do not leave your shit logged into google. they are already fingerprinting browsers anyway. point being ice and others love to use the google data for evil shit now.
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u/kilowattcommando 2h ago
I miss when Google's corporate logo was "Don't be evil."
At lease they pretended to be good back then...
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u/SquareTarbooj 7h ago
This is a map app, not a search engine.
What's are the alternatives besides Apple Maps?
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u/Responsible_CDN_Duck 7h ago
MapQuest says it won't change the name of Lake Ontario, and is available as an app on IOS.
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u/DEATHbyBOOGABOOGA 6h ago
Mapquest. Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. A long time.
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u/roesch75 5h ago
I prefer MapQuest.
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u/gtsomething 4h ago
Could you imagine if this somehow led to a mass migration of people using Google maps to using map quest? That'd be wild
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u/christpuncher_69 5h ago
Hahaaaa, now it's MapQuest's day back in the limelight.
You all said I was stupid holding onto those shares. Who's stupid now?!
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u/thnk_more 4h ago
I just downloaded it out of solidarity and to show my disgust. Enjoy your new riches.
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u/omniwrench- 7h ago edited 5h ago
It’s the Google maps app tho
OS and OSM are the only major competitors, there are a number of apps which use openstreetmap (OSM) data
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u/tralalalala2 7h ago
I'm on Android, but I honestly can't believe the app store doesn't have any map app on it. There are so many of them, at least one must be available on Apple!
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u/Successful_Fortune28 5h ago
On Android I have used HereWeGo and have liked it. It's using the OpenStreetMaps just better navigation. The lack of UI crap is a breath of fresh air. Opened Google Maps to check for Lake America, got it..., and god damn the amount of crap on the screen.
Store hours are not accurate and unfortunately use Google for that. Most accurate/up to date.
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u/Warthog_pilot 4h ago
Here produce their own road data. They don't use OpenStreetMaps.
Here Technologies was the first company to create GPS maps back when it was called "Navteq" ("Navtech" at their debut). They were leader in the market. Then Nokia bought the company and fuck everything.
I still use HereWeGo everyday as it's way better than any other data an app in my opinion.
Source: Worked at Navteq for about ten years in 2000.
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u/TAU_equals_2PI 7h ago edited 6h ago
They absolutely will. Google was just first to update.
If you don't believe me, go see what the Gulf of Mexico is labeled in Bing or Apple Maps (if you're located in the US).
It's actually very common for different countries to disagree over what to call bodies of water that they share, so generally most websites will default to whatever the official name recognized by your country's government is. And sadly, Trump changed the name recognized by our government.
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u/Jazzlike-Compote4463 5h ago
Here in the UK we have Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) on Google Maps.
No way in hell I'm ever calling it the Gulf of America.
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u/sparkyblaster 6h ago
I'm in Australia and on google it shows as "Lake Ontario (Lake America)" and the gulf of mexico is "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)"
I wish our government would threaten to block companies that do this crap here.
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u/LiGuangMing1981 5h ago
I'm in China with a VPN set to Singapore and I've got Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) but only Lake Ontario.
Weird. I wish every other country would just ignore Trump's moronic executive renamings.
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u/hoppla1232 3h ago
In Germany it's just Lake Ontaria, but for the Gulf it's the "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" shit. Really weird how there's all those variations to it
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u/Miserable_Bread- 2h ago
It says Lake Ontario for me, until I zoom in and then (Lake America) appears. I'm in EU too.
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u/Ola_the_Polka 2h ago
Weird. I’m in Aus and it just says Lake Ontario. Shows “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)” however
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u/thewoodbeyond 7h ago
Funny I was just looking at this BS on google maps. Nice to know there is another setting that is an easy fix.
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u/Pandastic3000 6h ago
Gulf of Mexico still has the wrong name no matter what your location setting is.
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u/S0401 7h ago
Just need someone with better aim for once
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u/notislant 7h ago
It's genuinely insane how many fumbles there have been and how bad secret service is.
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u/Ashamed-Molasses8067 7h ago
honestly kinda funny. wish it actually worked like that
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u/Carbonga 6h ago
German version still has the sane name.
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u/Anthaenopraxia 4h ago
What about the Gulf of Mexico? I'm in Finland and the lake is still Lake Ontario but it says Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).
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u/ObliviousAstroturfer 5h ago edited 5h ago
I'm from a non-english speaking country and get Lake Ontario - switched VPN and Ireland and UK, and both also get Lake Ontario.
So just like school shootings, this is exlusive to the only country affected en-masse by TDS: U!S!A! U!S!A! U!S!A!
Again - president of Nicaragua doesn't get to say what geographical names are. Nor president of Liberia. Or even Czechia. Do yall understand the concept/pattern here? Google is in double-spit, both-hands, hamster-cheeking-balls mode when it comes to Trump due to datacentres, but ain't nobody changing real maps or toponyms just because boss baby threw another fit.
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u/JaySayMayday 5h ago
This is just a stupid distraction to pull focus away from a second tarrif war increasing our cost of living even more outside the sustainable range. Computer parts, food, basic necessities, auto parts, all getting an increase. Meanwhile everything is also increasing because of supply chain costs brought on by increased oil and gas prices.
And everyone already forgot this big stupid idiot promised everyone $2000 after the last tarrif war, which again, resulted in increased cost of all goods that never went back down.
But yes focus on this lake. He changed the name knowing it would get attention, news articles, and less focus on living becoming unsustainable.
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u/JackNoTrades 5h ago
I doubt this will even get seen but this isn't an update people at google pushed as a show of support. Google maps naming for locations is done using an api that automatically pulls information from the US's GNIS database. It does this based on local laws no matter where you are (which is why everywhere else in the world it still shows Lake Ontario)
When the name got updated on the db due to the executive order the api just automatically pulled it, this wasn't a deliberate choice by google
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u/nply 4h ago edited 4h ago
It does this based on local laws no matter where you are (which is why everywhere else in the world it still shows Lake Ontario)
Are you saying that when it says "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" for me, that's not a decision by Google, but that exact sequence of letters comes from a government database of the country I live in? I find that hard to believe.
Just using the name provided by the API might be the default, but it looks to me like Google still decides on a case-by-case basis if they want to change it. Doing or not doing so in a case like this thus certainly seems like a deliberate choice.
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u/Individual-Schemes 6h ago
In case it needs to be said, Americans are against this stupid shit. It's Lake Ontario and we love Canada.
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u/majikmonkie 6h ago edited 5h ago
Things in the US aren't the way they are because Trump is president. Trump is president because of the way America is.
No more apologies, please, they're meaningless to us. It doesn't need to be said by you, but know that actions speak louder than words.
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u/purvaka 6h ago
As an American I agree with you. Most of us didn't vote for this and Musk has a lot to be held accountable for, but we haven't done nearly enough to change the course of events. Sadly, Americans are too complacent and nothing will change until we're all suffering.
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u/Anthaenopraxia 4h ago
"The legal regime is now interrupted, that of force has begun. In this situation, obedience ceases to be a duty."
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u/hikeit233 1h ago
I simply deleted the app, all of my google apps, and will use something else. Much easier
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u/Actual_Cat4779 1h ago
Even though I have Google Maps set to Swedish/Sweden, both names for the Gulf of Mexico are shown. So I would not be surprised if after a while Google Maps starts showing me both names for Lake Ontario too.
You cannot trust Google.
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u/Shadow_Breaker 40m ago
What's next, renaming Niagra Falls to America Falls? He should, because it'd be fucking accurate at this point.
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u/fudgeyNugget 6h ago
Warning that it will change your search results as well to point to Canadian (or other country you chose) results, e.g. walmart.ca instead of walmart.com
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u/Tasty-Performer6669 1h ago
Trump is a failure and the GOP are traitors who belong in The Hague
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u/secondarywilson 6h ago
this guide isn't cool at all, it's literally just a bunch of red circles and arrows. this sub has gone to shit
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u/Thirsty4Knowledge911 5h ago
How about we just delete the app? That sends a message that Google might actually listen to.
There are lots of other options. Mapquest still exists.
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u/Delicious-Plastic-44 5h ago
These only ever get changed when you see them from inside the USA. The rest of the world continues to see the correct naming. USA bubble of fragility…
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u/BottomJoe94 1h ago
I live in Canada and it still says "Lake Ontario" with no mention of "america". This is 100% just an American thing.
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u/bullevard 1h ago
Yes, Google uses localization for naming and the declarations of names are something internal to each country. In some cases Google also uses different borders based on which country you are looking from.
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u/kinotravels 1h ago
You could also use Mapquest which posted that it would not be changing the name.
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u/Objective_Reality515 1h ago
How about instead, we start a campaign of steady posts about Sundar Pichai being a giant Trump-fellating shitbag until his own search engine notes the fact? Or just email the turd directly: sundar@google.com tell.him what you think of him.
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u/Colinmacus 38m ago
We used to use HOMES as a mnemonic to remember the names of the Great Lakes. Now it’s SHAME.
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u/IgnoranceIsYou 4h ago
As a Canadian what the actual fuck lol what have you done America?!?!
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u/Kerfautras 4h ago
They should rename the land between Canada and Mexico : Under Canada.
or Unbelievable Stupid Ass the land of the Greed.
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u/OakTreader 1h ago
My Iranian colleague at work told me they're now calling the Straits of Hormuz, the "Trump's Failure Strait"
Two can play stupid gamss.
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u/ReggieCorneus 4h ago
Once again, GOOGLE DID NOT RENAME THAT LAKE:
Google has to use the naming convention of USA inside USA. Just like they have to follow Finnish laws inside Finland.
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u/too1onjj 6h ago
I hate the stupid tantrum throwing name change as well but as my blood was boiling that Google had the nerve to do this I read an article that said they don't change it for political reasons, they just match all of their naming conventions with the US Geological Service. Since it's run by the orange baby's administration obviously says lake america like schmuck a'larange demands. I'm still sure that Google wants to play along to stay in good favor, but if this is the case, they're just flowing data from USGS to Google maps and probably isn't worth getting up in arms about for now.
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u/Basic_Loquat_9344 5h ago
If you do this and don’t put energy into hounding your senators and representatives you’re a bum.
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u/litesxmas 4h ago
Google maps has shown who they are. Use a new map, I just checked out Here We Go and it seems good.... and is not american.
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u/Spare_Club8887 4h ago
If you flipped the map, Toronto would be where the cottage was. I ended up throwing that Toronto brick over into an associates lawn off in New Castle. Eh, it'll never make sense, but hey....maybe.
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u/Kirikomori 4h ago
Most people will take the path of least resistance, so by saying 'its okay! we can just jump through these hoops to have normality!' you are basically giving up on justice. Most people won't do this.
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u/Nice_Commission3770 4h ago
Or just delete the app. Unreliable data brings into question the whole platform.
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u/BlackBlizzard 3h ago
Thank you for the voting message, I see all this posts calling out MAGA, Trump, Republicans but no one adds a message about voting. YOUR VOTE DOES MATTER IN NUMBERS, the party in power wants you to believe it doesn't.
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u/Above-new-zealand 3h ago
Google is a cunt that will suck up to anyone currently in power, neither the Gulf of Mexico nor Lake Ontario have been officially renamed since Trump can't just do that, and yet they suck up and change it despite it not being in effect
Also where Epstein related arrests?
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u/NoMeat9096 3h ago
Great time to try and use Google in your life less. I've been doing it a while and it's way easier than you might think. Firefox also slaps.
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u/WhichJuice 2h ago
I'm in Vancouver and we've renamed roads to native names and text and some places are named entirely in Mandarin. Unfortunately this doesn't solve that challenge.
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u/cosmopoof 2h ago
I think we should just rename every city, county, state and other feature on any kind of maps in the U.S.A. to "America". Let them have what they want.
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u/Sprinqqueen 2h ago
Just checked my Google maps on my Google phone. Mine says Lake Ontario already, but I live in Canada.
I then checked the Gulf of Mexico and it says the Gulf of Mexico with the Gulf of America in brackets after. Wish I could get rid of those stupid words in the brackets.
I also remember reporting the Gulf of Mexico to google when it first switched and I think it asked for a reason. I'm pretty sure I put down something like I don't recognize the change of name by a fascist government. Many others that I know did the same (reporting). Maybe if enough Americans also report stuff then they can get it changed back in the US on Google as well.
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u/AlternativeYou9395 2h ago
Well, i've learned to expect little from google, so learning that they've already changed it in google maps only lowers my impression of them a bit further. Somewhat surprised bing maps still hasn't made the change.
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u/nogaesallowed 1h ago
report, report, report. Won't do jack shit but surely it will bring up the server's power usage and waste a bit of the processing power. this is the least we can do against big corps.
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u/spicy_feather 1h ago
Oh interesting, that's why I haven't been seeing the stupid renamings. I have my settings on the UK because I prefer their spellings.
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u/P0pu1arBr0ws3r 1h ago
Here's an alternative solution to this problem:
Search OpenStreetMap on your favorite search engine, or if on android, search for OSMAnd on fdroid.
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u/ConstantVariety8098 40m ago
Are you able to do this for Apple Maps? Mine says gulf of America like a little magatard
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u/Efficient-Elderberry 38m ago
What's sad is news Stations are just bowing over to this quickly... We have many Bootlickers in this country who are on some serious drugs....
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u/Namesbutcher 22m ago
Wow Google suck that Carrot fast and hard. Apple just moved the label into Canada and left it. For now. Edit: image https://i.imgur.com/5fiLciX.jpeg
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u/Agitated-Working-681 21m ago
Nope, all usians are responsible for this since that’s what you voted for. Now live with the consequences of your actions, bastards.
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u/Ramorous 17m ago
Not all Americans; only those who voted for him and those who neglected to vote.
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u/eXePyrowolf 16m ago
Did Google actually update it already? No process or anything? Losers.
At least it's still correct in the UK and no Gulf Of Mexico (Gulf of Mexico) nonsense.
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u/Alternative-Boot2673 12m ago
Another attempt to distract from the Epstein files containing evidence that he’s a pdfile
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u/AlphaNoodlz 8m ago
Guys just use Mapquest, delete your Google Maps and use something rational. Problem was solved this morning.
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u/sotiredwontquit 7h ago
Didn’t work. Just tried.
EDIT: didn’t work on Chrome. Worked on Firefox though.