Apple Joins Google in Renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America Under Trump’s Directive
POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — Apple has succumbed to President Donald Trump’s directive to alter the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, aligning with a similar move by Google last week....
POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — Apple has succumbed to President Donald Trump’s directive to alter the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, aligning with a similar move by Google last week.
Trump issued an executive order in late August to rebrand the water body, situated between the Canadian province of Ontario and New York, as the trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada intensified.
Google swiftly adapted by changing Lake Ontario to Lake America for U.S. users, and Apple followed suit on Tuesday after direct communication with the president.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum indicated on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria that the change was imminent, stating, I know that the president reached out to Apple directly, so I’m sure that we may be seeing that change coming up soon to Lake America.
Both tech giants have also modified the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on their Maps applications, in response to another executive order from Trump earlier in his second term.
Democratic social media influencer Harry Sisson criticized Apple’s decision, expressing on X, “Apple Maps has changed Lake Ontario to Lake America after Trump pressured them to do so. It’s just so pathetic. Why go along with this stupidity??”
Google faced similar backlash for its name change, with progressive media company MeidasTouch commenting on X, “Google Maps has now capitulated to Donald Trump.”
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In contrast, MapQuest has steadfastly refused to alter the name of Lake Ontario. Upon Trump’s executive order, the company declared on X, We’re not changing it.
Following its defiance, MapQuest experienced a significant boost in App Store rankings, climbing to the No. 1 navigation app and No. 8 free app on Sunday night—its highest position since its 1996 launch.
Doug Berger, general manager of MapQuest, explained in a press release, We took the same approach we did with the Gulf of Mexico: be part of the conversation, and give people an app that keeps the names they’re familiar with.
Berger added, “Hundreds of thousands of people signaled to us this weekend that we got it right, by downloading our app.”
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
