Discussion
Google has now renamed Lake Ontario for US users. They don’t even show the real name in brackets.
I used a VPN to compare: Apple hasn’t renamed it (at least not yet), nor has Dutch service Here WeGo or OpenStreetMap.
Yet another reason to ditch Google, and US tech more broadly.
#tech #lakeontario #canada #cdnpoli #tariffs #digitalsovereignty
May I suggest naming all U.S. lakes "Lake of America"? And all airports "Donald Trump Airport"? Let's make it simple.
@parismarx what
the guy wants to name everything America? Is the whole world become America soon?
@parismarx I am in Australia and the lake's name shows as Lake Ontario in Google maps app on Android. But on maps web interface, it is showing as Lake America with Lake Ontario written in small font next to it.
@parismarx It's dumb that the US renamed it but if Google decided it will use official place names I don't think it's wrong. But the OSM approach is I think better with having one field for the common place name and one for the official name with apps deciding which one to use.
@parismarx Google didn't rename the lake. The idiot in charge did. Outside of the Idiocracy the name is still Ontario.
@parismarx I was shocked to see how close Peterborough is to Lake Ontario - I had no idea!
(I live in Peterborough - in the UK!)
@parismarx g09gle could show some balls and rename Lake Huron as Lake Hur'intheepsteinfiles ...
@parismarx Mapquest is now installed, Goog maps has been shut down
@parismarx the very next I come via Newark, I’ll ask the cab-driver to bring me to Nieuw Amsterdam
@parismarx i literally thought "another reason to ditch google" word for word before reading the last sentence in this post lol. fuck google
@parismarx seems like it’s time to create support tickets for google regarding a mislabeled lake on Google Maps? I assume they don’t have a support system for maps, I mean nobody has support anymore, right?
@parismarx Before the Gulf of Mexico shenanigans I never anticipated that we'd need a "political_view=US" for maps.
@parismarx Ugh, I'd love to ditch Google. What's your recommendation for a mapping app on smartphone that is at least as good? Everything I tried was trash for directions (either really bad at routing or missing big chunks of addresses).
@parismarx I didn't even know Here WeGo existed and it seems good enough for my needs, I've uninstalled Google Maps just to make a statement and I'll try to use Here WeGo instead
When I opened it this morning to check, it said "Lake Ontario" when I first looked at it and then changed to "Lake America" a few seconds later.
Watching the cache refresh in real time was interesting but seriously fuck them.
@parismarx ditched them too lang ago to make a stand on this.
Servi sciocchi.
E manco ve la traduco, yankee; la "fatica" di centrare il campo semantico dovete farla voi, se vi va e se ne siete capaci.
@parismarx Btw, while looking at all 4 interfaces, I was stunned by how clean and minimal Apple’s map looks, despite having the same information.
Apple really cares about design.
@parismarx I was seeing Apple users complaining they had renamed it even before I saw Google users say it. Which just shows no matter how high the pedestal, corporations are corporations in the end.
@parismarx
#ArtificialStupidity : Lake renaming edition
@parismarx this is how it looks from Germany
When murderous petrostate despots co-opt ... ahem,... "invest" in American tech companies, the outcome is obvious.
https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-visits-apple-google-2018-4
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/jared-kushner-mbs-khashoggi-murder-trump
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/world/middleeast/saudi-mbs-jared-kushner.html
https://www.axios.com/2017/12/14/koch-tries-its-hand-at-venture-capital-1513277500
The corporations then align themselves with other murderous fascist dictators & their enablers
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/11/jared-kushner-paramount-warner-bros-deal
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/26/nx-s1-5761206/how-saudi-arabia-shaped-silicon-valley
@parismarx There are always reasons to ditch Google. :)
@parismarx still Lake Ontario from France
Why does anyone still use Google for anything? There are perfectly sound alternatives available and have been for years.
@parismarx you can report it as a problem, specially a mislabeled fearure, to Google from the Maps app and website. If nothing else they will get a sense of how stupid we think this is and it will cost them money to process tge requests.
@parismarx United States of Epstein Island
@parismarx @Gargron let me guess: trumpists just use google maps, anything else just does not exist to them.
@parismarx Google doesn't realize the damage it's doing to itself. I'm done with it (I use SearXNG). Next phone will run GrapheneOS.
Exactly. This shows how the tech companies, follows the Orange mans, most crazy and obsene ideas, without ever questioning them. But it cant be a surprise, since they backed him with lots of money, and now he is ‘cashing in’.
@parismarx I personally got off google maps and onto Organic Maps. There's plenty of google alternatives as long as you look.
Need an email and calendar, tuta. Need drive, Proton. Need a search, Startpage. Want to watch Youtube, Invidious. Want to watch Youtube on your phone, Newpipe. Love your pixel but hate google, buy used and install graphene
Supposedly from Google:
https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/gnis-lake-ontario-lake-america-name-change/
The U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has formally changed the name for "Lake Ontario" to "Lake America" in the United States. Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. will see "Lake America," those in Canada will continue to see "Lake Ontario," and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names.
#BeLikeCanada 🇨🇦 to be free.
Bend the elbow 💪, not the knee!
#BuyCanadian to #resist #fascism in #USpol.
@parismarx
I, for one, didn't need another reason to ditch Google, and US tech, but thank you for providing me with one.
@parismarx Quoting Lewis Mumford (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Mumford):
"...for those of us who have thrown off the myth of the machine, the next move is ours, for the gates of the technocratic prison will open automatically, despite their rusty hinges, as soon as we choose to walk out."
@parismarx
I can confirm, in #germany it is still #Lake #ontario
@parismarx OpenStreetMap for the win
@parismarx also looking normal at the map of murena /e/iOS.🇨🇦
@parismarx My maps now refer to Wishington and The Why House.
@parismarx On OpenStreetMap, the name continues to be tagged according to the name commonly used in the localities in the immediate vicinity of the lake, and a separate tag has been added to record the name that appears in the official documents of various authorities: https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/lake-ontario-lake-america/146975
However, most apps will use the commonly used name.
@parismarx the absolutely most ridiculous part of our dystopia.
@parismarx Apple Maps also uses GNIS, so it’s only a matter of time.
@parismarx Apple even renamed the Gulf of Mexico for non-US users (my phone region is set to France).
Though, I’m signed into two Apple IDs (one French and one American), so maybe I get a different experience than people with no USA ties ?
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