Google Maps creates a gulf between the US and the world

Google Maps, the world’s most-used navigation app, will soon update the name of a mountain and body of water to comply with updated US federal policy.

• Hours after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” and to change the name of Mount Denali in Alaska back to Mount McKinley.
• The Gulf of Mexico – a body of water that borders the US, Mexico, and Cuba – has held that name since the 17th century, while President Barack Obama in 2015 signed an order changing the name of Mount McKinley to Mount Denali.

But…Not all of Google Map’s 2 billion monthly global users will be exposed to the same nomenclature (one could say it’s…all over the map).

The app routinely uses different names to refer to the same places based on the location of a user, especially if there is a geopolitical dispute (ex: the Persian Gulf/Arabian Gulf and Sea of Japan/East Sea). And in this case: users inside the US will see the new names – Mount McKinley and the Gulf of America – while users outside the US will likely see both old and new names appear for each, CNN reports.

🗺️ Elsewhere: Apple Maps hasn’t commented on whether it will make any changes, while the Associated Press and National Geographic are still calling it the Gulf of Mexico.