Only One Dares to Oppose the President, While Two Giants Yield

Tech giants Apple and Google have reportedly complied with US President Donald Trump’s order to change the name of one of the largest lakes on the US-Canada border from ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America’. While both giants have yielded, MapQuest has remained steadfast, refusing to update the name on its mapping service.

The incident began with an official order signed by Trump on 27 August. In the directive, he ordered that the name of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes forming the border between the United States and Canada, be officially changed to ‘Lake America’. The US government provided a 30-day window for relevant agencies to update the name across all official national databases.

Less than a week later, Google immediately complied with the order. Apple followed shortly after, updating the name on its mapping service. Users in the United States will now see the name ‘Lake America’ when accessing maps on both services. However, users in Canada will continue to see the name Lake Ontario, while users outside both countries will see both names simultaneously.

Amidst the compliance of the two global tech giants, one name has stood firm in refusing to follow suit. MapQuest, a mapping service that has existed for decades, even before Google Maps and Apple Maps, stated it will not change the name of Lake Ontario on its services. They have chosen to retain the name that has been recognised by the public for centuries.

This refusal has been met with extraordinary enthusiasm from the public. People have flocked away from Apple Maps and Google Maps, turning instead to download MapQuest. In a short period, the MapQuest application surged to the number one position on the list of most-downloaded applications in the Apple App Store in the United as, even surpassing other popular apps. On the Android Play Store, MapQuest rose to the top six.

MapQuest communicated its stance via a social media post. They shared a screenshot showing their number one position, writing: “The people have spoken. We stand firm.” The post has been liked and shared millions of times.

This is not the first controversy regarding geographical names triggered by Trump’s actions. Last year, these same two companies also complied with Trump’s order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’. At that time, MapQuest also refused to participate in the name change.