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Trump pushes Apple to change 'Lake Ontario' to 'Lake America' on its maps

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Trump pushes Apple to change 'Lake Ontario' to 'Lake America' on its maps
Image · BBC World News

What the report says

President Donald Trump has asked Apple to update its Maps platform to show Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” according to US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who said Trump had contacted the company directly. The move follows an executive order signed by Trump on Thursday directing federal agencies to adopt the new name in US government mapping systems, including the Geographic Names Information System.

BBC News reports that Google has already changed the label for US-based users, while people in Canada still see Lake Ontario. For users elsewhere, Google’s maps now show both names together. Apple had not publicly responded at the time of the report. Another US mapping service, MapQuest, said it would not make the change.

The renaming has prompted pushback in Canada, where some organizations briefly showed the Lake America label through third-party map tools and later apologized or corrected the error. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also responded by unveiling a sign reading “Lake Ontario Now and Always” and rejecting the new name. The dispute matters because it has become another symbolic flashpoint in strained US-Canada relations after trade talks broke down, and because the lake is a major shared geographic feature on the border between Ontario and New York.

Read the full report at BBC World News →

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