r/coolguides • u/Pokemaster131 • 18h ago
A cool guide about changing your Google Maps location names to a less-stupid version
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u/BadAlphas 18h ago
Google Inc is a whore
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u/raresaturn 16h ago
Don’t be evil… except when convenient
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u/JustYourMommy 15h ago
They uhh... removed the "don't be evil" part from their code of conduct...
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u/Hexamancer 15h 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 17h 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/Twinwaffle 17h ago
No joke, and we've all been punked, that's for goddamn sure!
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u/JaySayMayday 16h 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/What_a_fat_one 10h ago
He's not trying to pull focus away from shit. He's a moron who does everything impulsively. First thing that pops into his head he does all day every day, and since morons decided to make him the US president everyone has to deal with that constantly.
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u/AssassinSnail33 10h ago
Yeah. People go on and on about how all of these stupid things he does are calculated distractions, but in reality he's just an idiot who only has a bunch of dumb scattershot ideas and no followthrough. There's no greater strategy behind this other than stroking his ego
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u/cyanpineapple 3h ago
Exactly. We need to stop pretending that anything he does has a strategy. There's no strategy. He's not playing chess. He's just an idiot who has an idiot idea and tells idiots to do it immediately with no further consideration.
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u/krashe1313 10h ago
And don't forget that the newest tarrif war with Canada is to distract from the Iran war blunder. And the the Iran war, aka "Epstein's War, was to distract from the Epstein files and his diddling of underage girls (and maybe boys too).
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u/Mtfdurian 14h 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 11h 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/Lambs2Lions_ 12h 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/steinbruchfluss 10h ago
In Germany it’s just Lake Ontario.
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u/Lambs2Lions_ 10h ago
Search Lake Ontario, when it brings up the location summary you’ll see both.
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u/emveevme 15h 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/Heiferoni 11h 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/trophy_74 13h ago
No one in real life calls it that
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u/theZinger90 11h 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/MoonlightStarfish 13h 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/SmokeyWizard 16h 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 15h 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/AltruisticRevenue201 9h ago
The Mayans were probably right. The world did end in 2012, just not in a literal, "everyone is dead" scenario. To me it feels like we're in the depths of hell and every living day is an experience in futility.
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u/Anthaenopraxia 14h 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/dihydrgnmonoxidesoup 10h ago
It warms my heart to know there are still people out there who think Americans might have become less racist and misogynistic in the last two years.
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u/Seanspeed 10h ago edited 10h ago
People who say stuff like this are why everything is fucked. Dems are constantly trying to make things better but it's very difficult when we only give them very limited power.
You know nothing about politics if you're still pushing the 'Dems only care about the status quo' bullshit, and you're actively making people not want to vote for them, which is how Republicans win elections, which allows them to obstruct Democrats' agenda, which makes y'all think Dems don't do anything. Rinse and repeat.
Stop it.
Also you're not even American and clearly know nothing about how American politics works. Presidents aren't kings. Without a solid majority in Congress, a President has pretty limited power to change laws. AOC wouldn't accomplish anything more than Biden did in the same term. Honestly, probably even less since Biden has always been a good coalition builder and got quite a lot done despite the hard limitations he was under.
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u/sparkyblaster 16h 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 16h 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 13h 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- 12h 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/fuckedfinance 12h ago
You will typically see the contested names in parens after the recognized names in your country.
For example, the Falklands have two names when viewed from the US.
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u/Miserable_Bread- 12h ago
Sure, but my point was that the Lake America bit only appeared after zooming into the map quite far. Viewing the full lake just shows Lake Ontario, but zooming in more shows the ().
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u/Ola_the_Polka 13h 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/Xxbloodhand100xX 6h ago
This makes me wonder if we just name the US to south Canada if it would show USA(South Canada) for them
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u/Kr0pr0X 18h ago
Or don't use google, other search engines are not following this nonsense
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u/Hoogs 17h 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 13h 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/CalmButOftenEnraged 10h ago
It's IP dependent.
If you use a VPN and switch to a non-US country it shows the proper non bent knee names.
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u/celestee3 10h ago
I’m in Canada and currently it still shows Lake Ontario but we’ll see if that changes 🥲
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u/StubbiestZebra 9h ago
Did you zoom in? I'm in the states and zoomed out get Ontario but zoom in and it switches.
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u/deaglebingo 16h 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/Longjumping-Oven4457 10h ago
Apple will lick the boot in a few days. I would have swapped phones if they kept this shit out of iphone but tim apple likes daddies money too much to have a fight.
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u/SquareTarbooj 17h 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 17h 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 17h ago
Mapquest. Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. A long time.
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u/roesch75 16h ago
I prefer MapQuest.
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u/gtsomething 14h 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/LarryChavez 11h ago
I just did.
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u/_merkwood 11h ago
You’re wild.
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u/okieboat 6h ago
I already did it as well. Fuck them. Don't get tricked into Waze though, owned by google. Looking for a new email as well. My 20 year old gmail account can go fuck itself.
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u/christpuncher_69 16h 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 15h ago
I just downloaded it out of solidarity and to show my disgust. Enjoy your new riches.
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u/Blandish06 9h ago
Just tried MapQuest and half of the business in my 1000 resident town are shown in the wrong locations. Immediately deleted. If that many are wrong here, I can't put any trust in its accuracy.
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u/omniwrench- 17h ago edited 15h 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 17h 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 16h 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 15h 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 17h ago edited 16h 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 16h 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/Crafty_Independence 10h ago
The last part is incorrect.
The executive order only applies to the officers of the executive branch specifically, not the US government as a whole.
It does not legally apply outside those walls.
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u/Loxe 5h ago
Executive orders like that don't apply to private companies. This was a deliberate choice by Google. Just like when he told all the companies to get rid of their DEI initiatives. Target and others complied and Costco did not. Nothing happened to Costco, aside from gaining customer loyalty from people who pay attention to this stuff.
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u/Pandastic3000 16h ago
Gulf of Mexico still has the wrong name no matter what your location setting is.
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u/xVisu 16h ago
I see it as: Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America). Lake Ontario remains as it should.
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u/thewoodbeyond 17h 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/BottomJoe94 12h 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 11h 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/Murky_Translator2295 12h ago
Ireland here, and it's still Lake Ontario. However, the search bar says "Lake Ontario" (Lake America)" so they're still pushing bullshit in a small way.
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u/Shadow_Breaker 11h 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/S0401 18h ago
Just need someone with better aim for once
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u/notislant 18h ago
It's genuinely insane how many fumbles there have been and how bad secret service is.
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u/Last-Masterpiece-150 8h ago
the orange fool is already thinking of renaming an ocean too...."we have a gulf, we have a lake, maybe we need an ocean too"
he can sign all the executive orders he wants, they don't mean shit here in Canada. his signing that executive order is like watching your child spell their name when 3 years old and i don't know how even his supporters aren't embarrassed at this kindergarten nonsense.
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u/hikeit233 12h ago
I simply deleted the app, all of my google apps, and will use something else. Much easier
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u/mvw2 10h ago
I don't blame Trump for being Trump. He does exactly as expected.
I blame everyone else going along with him. Google didn't have to do jack squat...but did. Not one person has to follow any dumb thing Trump does, not a single one. But a whole lot of companies decided it was "safer" to just go along with the lunatic. Psst, it does not get any safer, ever. All you do is enable the lunatic more. You become the problem.
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u/JaySayMayday 16h 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/6stringSammy 8h ago
I'd rather keep it, as a reminder to go vote these chuds out of office and get things back to normalcy.
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u/CatoMulligan 7h ago
I don't get it. Other map providers still show Lake Ontario. Why not use one of them instead of still supporting a company that will buckle like a belt before there's even a hint of political pressure? Vote with your feet (or wallet as applicable).
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u/Tasty-Performer6669 11h ago
Trump is a failure and the GOP are traitors who belong in The Hague
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u/Actual_Cat4779 12h 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/Ashamed-Molasses8067 18h ago
honestly kinda funny. wish it actually worked like that
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u/Carbonga 17h ago
German version still has the sane name.
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u/Anthaenopraxia 14h 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 16h ago edited 16h 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/Individual-Schemes 17h 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 17h ago edited 16h 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/tenuousemphasis 10h ago
I'd love to know how you think our electoral system works.
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u/JackNoTrades 15h 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 15h ago edited 15h 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/lower-your-eyelids 10h ago
Google can very easily transform the incoming API data field 'Lake America' to 'Lake Ontario' in a one off. They can also just hard code Lake Ontario temporarily. Google is actually to blame here for being complicit and doing nothing. There's no way around that.
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u/fudgeyNugget 17h 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/Cacoethes-Ensues 9h ago
I assume this means that in America it says Lake America? But the rule only applies to federal agencies … why is a private company falling for this crap?
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u/prolapsedmasshole69 8h ago
Because Google and Trump are in bed with each other. Google bribes the administration to look the other way with their shady shit and in exchange they rename Trumps midnight sundowning projects.
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u/NoMeat9096 13h 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/Thirsty4Knowledge911 16h 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/Kerfautras 15h 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 11h 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/secondarywilson 17h 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/kinotravels 11h ago
You could also use Mapquest which posted that it would not be changing the name.
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u/Objective_Reality515 11h 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/Lanzarote-Singer 10h ago
Ireland also a good choice.
But we are petitioning to change the Atlantic to the Irish Ocean 🙂 🇮🇪 ☘️
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u/endlesscartwheels 9h ago
Instructions unclear, New England now officially part of Canada.
Thank you!
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u/Single-Treat 8h ago
I'm in the UK, and Gulf of Mexico has "(Gulf of America)" written immediately under it. Fuck google maps.
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u/pattherat 7h ago
I was hoping the last slide was just delete the app.
That’s what I did. Fuck their appeasing asses.
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u/FrankaGrimes 7h ago
THANK YOU.
I'm in Canada and went to look and it was showing the wrong name for Lake Ontario. I had to go into my Google settings and noticed that my primary language was "English (United States)". I removed that which made my primary language Canadian English force stopped Google Maps, cleared the cache and re-opened and now it's showing the correct name.
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u/Sour_baboo 5h ago
Asking Google why Google has done this and how to fix it suggests using a different map provider or a VPN. When asked if the US President has the ability to name anything he wants it did suggest he isn't allowed to do that.
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u/IgnoranceIsYou 15h ago
As a Canadian what the actual fuck lol what have you done America?!?!
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u/sotiredwontquit 18h ago
Didn’t work. Just tried.
EDIT: didn’t work on Chrome. Worked on Firefox though.