Google Maps Users in U.S. Will See Renamed Gulf of Mexico and Denali ⇥ cbsnews.com

Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News:

Google Maps users in the United States can expect to see the body of water known for centuries as the Gulf of Mexico renamed the Gulf of America, aligning with the terms of President Trump’s controversial executive order. Google also said Denali, a mountain in southern Alaska and North America’s tallest peak, is going to be called Mount McKinley on its maps for those same users, reflecting the presidential mandate.

It does not matter how idiotic this renaming is, it makes sense for Google — and Apple — to follow official local naming conventions. Disputed territories are common and there are exceptions to this rule, as I wrote in a terrible 2019 article that still has some good points, and I do not think U.S. tech companies should be arbiters of these political disputes. It is the renaming itself which ought to be ridiculed.

However, it is pretty rich to think of Google as particularly concerned about the accuracy of names on its maps. It routinely invents names of neighbourhoods.

See Also: The U.S. National Park Service had a good article about Denali and why it was renamed. It was online as of yesterday, but has just been removed.