Trumps’s order affects the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which ​sets the standards for official U.S. maps.

Google Maps has changed the name of “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America” for U.S. users to reflect President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the lake, according to ​a Google statement.

Trump announced on Thursday that he was changing the name ‌of the smallest of the five Great Lakes, part of an escalating trade feud with Canada that has prompted the two countries to impose reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars ​in goods.

The president’s order affects the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which ​sets the standards for official U.S. maps. It does not have ⁠any impact on Canadian naming conventions or how the rest of the ​world refers to the lake.

  • Tango@piefed.ca
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    2 days ago

    Really? I was under the impression that Trump had made it a law or something. If not, then what did that executive order actually do?

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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      2 days ago

      The EO changed the name on official government maps. Private companies don’t need to adopt those changes. At one point Google even stated its policy was to use the name in common usage rather than pushing updates based on arbitrary changes by a neighboring ruler.

    • CorrectAlias@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      2 days ago

      Executive orders only apply to the executive branch of the federal government, which is why they’re called executive orders. They don’t (or rather, are not supposed to) apply to anything else, including citizens and private companies.

      • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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        2 days ago

        (or rather, are not supposed to)

        That’s the big problem here.

        People acting on Trump’s demands who aren’t supposed to.