Google Renames Gulf Of Mexico To 'Gulf Of America' For US Users (image:x.com/WhiteHouse)
San Francisco, United States: Following an executive order by President Donald Trump, Google on Monday has renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America’ on its Maps platform. In a blog post, Google said that people using the Map platform outside will will continue to see both the original and new name.
“People using Maps in the US will see ‘Gulf of America,’ and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ Everyone else will see both names,” Google wrote.
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The tech giant stated that the change confirms with its policy of following official government designations as listed in the Geographic Names Information System. “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources,” the company said.
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is managed by the US Geological Survey, is adhered to official geographic names and Google merged it into its mapping services.
Upon taking office, Trump signed executive orders not only renaming the Gulf of Mexico but also reverting the 2015 decision to call America’s highest peak Mount Denali to its former name Mount McKinsley. In 2015, then-US president Barack Obama officially recognised the Alaska mountain as Denali, the name used by Alaska Native groups for centuries. Regarding this change, Google stated that this change will be implemented promptly once the name system update is complete.
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These renaming moves has evoked criticism from indigenous groups in Alaska. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took a dig at Trump’s renaming of the Gulf suggesting that United States be renamed “Mexican America,” referring to a map from before one-third of her country was seized by the United States in 1848.
Furthermore, Trump’s decision to change the name of Gulf of Mexico coincide with his stand on US-Mexico relations, which have been signaled by disputes over border security and trade policies.
