Last week, Donald Trump — frustrated by a trade war he started — issued an executive order supposedly changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Some government agencies are legally required to go along with Trump’s edict, no matter how petty and pathetic it is.
The rest of us are free to continue calling that body of water — one of the five Great Lakes along the border between the United States and Canada — Lake Ontario. (A name that has been in use for almost 400 years, comes from the languages of the region’s indigenous people, and means “lake of shining waters” or “beautiful lake.”)
But the corporate cowards at Google hastily changed the name to Lake America on their popular Maps service for users in the U.S.
Google has a history of capitulating to Trump’s cartographical whims.
For example, within hours of taking office for the second time, Trump issued an executive order directing the federal government to use “Gulf of America” rather than “Gulf of Mexico” and to use “Mount McKinley” rather than “Denali” for the tallest mountain in North America.
Even though it had no obligation whatsoever to do so, Google bowed down to Trump and changed those names on its Maps service.
And now Trump is pressuring Apple to follow in Google’s cowardly footsteps.
Join Public Citizen in a message for executives at Google and Apple: ([link removed])
It is really quite sad if you can’t find the courage to stand up to Donald Trump even on basic geography. All across America, everyday people are finding ways to resist Trump’s authoritarianism. You have practically unlimited power and wealth, and yet you seem almost eager to capitulate to Trump at every opportunity. Perhaps you can use your Maps services to locate your own spines? Do better. ([link removed])
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- Robert Weissman & Lisa Gilbert, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
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