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submitted 1 week ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Summary

Google Maps will rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" for U.S. users following a U.S. government decision.

The U.S. Department of Interior recently announced the official name change, implemented by the Board on Geographic Names.

Google stated it updates names based on official government sources.

The name will remain "Gulf of Mexico" in Mexico and display both names elsewhere globally.

This change stems from an executive order by Trump, who also reversed the 2015 renaming of Alaska's Denali to Mount McKinley.

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[-] Hegar@fedia.io 95 points 1 week ago

Well google maps can fuck right off, the cowards. What are everyone's recommendations for alternatives?

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 39 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Depends.

If you just want a map to find things, OsmAnd is good.

If you want to prepare hiking/biking trail maps and then download them for offline use, Alpi Maps is really nice.

If you want useful navigation that includes traffic data and gets the realistic arrival time close to correct, Magic Earth is really the only option (traffic time estimates depend on users agreeing to share their location data while using ME for navigation so that it can make traffic speed assessments - quality will depend on how many other ME users in your area have agreed to share their data).

All 3 ultimately depend on OpenStreetMap for their map data. If you use them, consider creating an account and contributing with a tool like StreetComplete.

If you want something that has locations of businesses &etc with accurate names, operating hours, contact information, pictures of the location, street view, user reviews... there are no alternatives.

[-] errer@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

OSM will rename the Gulf Of Mexico eventually as well, by policy. See towards the end of this long discussion thread: https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/gulf-of-america-gulf-of-mexico/124571/73

[-] viking@infosec.pub 6 points 1 week ago

Organic maps on fdroid. Using open street maps and have a pretty good UI, and offline maps.

[-] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago

Alternatives

Referring to it's proper name, the Gulf of Mexico

[-] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 69 points 1 week ago

Sundar really likes kissing the ring

[-] assassinatedbyCIA@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It’s pretty difficult to kiss the ring when it’s all the way down on the base of the penis. It must be tough on him.

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago

Did you not hear stormy Daniels account? It really wouldn't be that tough.

[-] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 week ago

One of the defining characteristics of a fascist state is requiring economic entities to align with state interests.

[-] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 37 points 1 week ago

Kind of expected, Google maps show you a different version depending of where you are, aligning with your government position.

[-] meathorse@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago

Well, if that's how it works, every country now needs to renames the US to something else on their maps. Whoever has the best name wins something - like, the Olympics or free membership to the UN.

Suggestions now open, I'll start: "Little Girls Blouse"

[-] Mad_Punda@feddit.org 15 points 1 week ago

United States of Oligarchs

That’s a bit boring though. Maybe they could put out a call for sponsors every week, the winner gets to name it. We’d get names like:

  • United States of Amazon
  • X
  • Murica
  • iMerica (designed by Apple in California, assembled in China)

Which should drive home the point.
Would also help government funding.

[-] Poach@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

The United Oligarchs of America

[-] Cruxifux@feddit.nl 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I already refer to the states as “dumbfuckistan” or “burgerland” to people I talk to IRL when I refer to the states and most people know where I’m talking about with little context. So that’s my suggestion.

[-] Geobloke@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago

United Safe Spaces of Trumpistan

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[-] Arghblarg@lemmy.ca 32 points 1 week ago

IMO it should be called the Chicxulub Gulf, since the most significant thing to happen there, objectively speaking, was the end of the Cretaceous.

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 11 points 1 week ago

Deepwater Horizon Gulf

[-] LordCrom@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago

This is some next level dumb shit.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago

The important part is "for US users". The rest of the world does not care about Trumps childish tantrums.

[-] Floodedwomb@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Honestly, we don't either.

[-] Geobloke@lemm.ee 22 points 1 week ago

Good to know that the US needs it's own safe space haha

[-] GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago

You can really tell how sheltered yanks are with this news.

This is pretty standard for Google maps. Names of locations change depending on what version of maps you use.

Google will use the official data from the government of whatever region it is, and the government Americans voted for changed the name.

[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago

No, we yanks are familiar with this policy. We just think capitulating to this performative nonsense is ridiculous.

[-] viking@infosec.pub 19 points 1 week ago

Pulling a Xi, are we? Amazing to see where the orange overlord is getting his inspiration from.

[-] plaguesandbacon@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 week ago

Small dick energy

[-] Lupus@feddit.org 18 points 1 week ago

I kind of get the whole 'Gulf of America's, at least conceptionally, America is the continent yada yada yada, it's fine, it's silly but fine.

But the Mount McKinley stuff is really baffling to me. Afaik McKinley never even visited Alaska during his presidency, alaskans themselves tried to change the name since at least the 1980s and the only thing that stood in the way was Ohio, as McKinleys home state, blocking the name change, until in 2015 they eventually relented and the name was changed back to its original indigenous name.

Why would they change it arbitrarily again? I don't understand? Is it just racism and it by chance happened during Obama's presidency?

[-] crank0271@lemmy.world 32 points 1 week ago

If you consider the most petty possible explanation for any of these "actions," you'll always be at least partially, if not entirely, correct.

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago

Why would they change it arbitrarily again? I don't understand?

I firmly believe that Trump and friends are having a grand time trolling the world as petty revenge for losing 2020.

In other words, there is no reason other than they can do it and we can do nothing about it.

[-] spongebue@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Honestly, it's the other way around for me. To be clear, Denali is a much better name than Mount McKinley for multiple reasons, but at least it's our mountain and it was named Mount McKinley at one time.

Gulf of America is just a dumb power move that came out of nowhere, and it's a body of water shared by multiple countries. It's not like this is the only gulf named after only one country it touches out of a few - see also the Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Thailand, for example

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

kind of get the whole 'Gulf of America’s, at least conceptionally, America is the continent...

Y'all know that's not the argument :-)

[-] KoalaUnknown@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago

Google is just asking people to switch to Organic maps with this one.

Apple maps for those wondering:

[-] Siegfried@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I will start calling the US Mexico of the North

[-] Zier@fedia.io 12 points 1 week ago

The majority of the Gulf is not owned by a nation. There are legal boundaries. The US cannot dictate the name. As usual, trump is an idiot.

[-] Alue42@fedia.io 9 points 1 week ago

But it can dictate how federal agencies refer to geographic regions.

A private company or private citizen can do as it sees fits.

[-] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

Get ready for some other bootlicking from Google, then Trump will write an executive order to drop the antitrust cases against Google.

[-] Zedstrian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 week ago

Switched to Apple Maps a few months ago, just one more reason to never switch back.

[-] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

This is what we call "bitch behavior".

It's the Gulf of Mexico.

[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 week ago

Stupid is as stupid does.

[-] EvilBit@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Google has sucked for a very long time. They’re greedy, monopolistic sociopaths that scrubbed “don’t be evil” from their principles pretty much the second there was a buck to be had from it.

[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

It’s a shame they haven’t been broken up. If they had been, many of the Google Graveyard products would probably still be around.

https://killedbygoogle.com/

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[-] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 week ago
[-] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 6 points 1 week ago

They're renaming "New Mexico" to "South America"

[-] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Open Street Maps is a thing. Use it.

It's also publicly editable and used to generate a bunch of other maps - even for government use. It would be a damned shame if people created burner accounts and started renaming things owned by Trump and Musk...

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[-] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

I've asked my wife and she's OK if the government would like to come penetrate my anus for its pleasure as needed.

I'll have the lube ready, just let us known when you need it.

[-] Maverick604@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

I’m just gonna go ahead and refer to it as the “Gulf of Canada” — the way Trump is leading America, Canada will extend all the way down there soon enough.

And Google can go fck itself for capitulating even before being asked. Fck that company.

Organic Maps is very good. One killer feature is that it can run completely offline, doesn’t track you, and is considerably more battery friendly than Google Maps.

And if you’re on an Apple device, Apple Maps is actually quite good now and probably has the lowest battery drain of any map app (on Apple hardware).

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this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2025
224 points (97.9% liked)

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