Google Maps changed Lake Ontario’s name for its American users, and the internet is not happy.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario, which straddles the Canadian and US border, to Lake America. The US Geographic Names Information System formally changed the name of the water body.
On Sunday, Google said it updates Maps based on official government sources, meaning US users would see “Lake America” while Canadian users would see “Lake Ontario.”Users outside these two countries would see “Lake Ontario (Lake America).”
The backlash to Google’s change was swift.
Some users on X called the change “pathetic” and an instance of Google “distributing misinformation.” Another said it showed how weak Google was, with how it “bows down to” Trump. Another more creative X user called the tool “Google Craps.”
The change also got some blowback from Canadian politicians.
Stephen Crawford, a member of Ontario’s provincial parliament, said some Canadian government websites displayed “Lake America” because they pull map data from Google Maps, an issue the province is fixing. Canadian business news outlet BNN Bloomberg reported that Metrolinx, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area’s public transit network, was among them.
“Some Ontario government agency websites pull map data directly from Google Maps. Following recent changes by Google, we’re actively reviewing our websites to make sure they all identify Lake Ontario by its correct name: Lake Ontario,” Crawford said in his Sunday post.
Crawford added in his post, “As Ontarians, we will always stand up for our province, our identity and the places that define it.”
When Business Insider checked Metrolinx’s website on Sunday evening, the lake was labeled Lake Ontario.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reposted Crawford’s post, adding: “Make no mistake: Lake Ontario is and always will be Lake Ontario.”
In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, a Google spokesperson said that website developers who embed Google Maps on their site can select a region to localize the map, which determines how place names are displayed.
“‘Lake Ontario’ will show when developers have set their region to Canada,” the spokesperson said.
On the other side of the aisle, the Google Maps change was welcomed by Trump supporters on X, who lauded the platform.
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