Google’s Calling Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ Now

image via 404 Media
image via 404 Media

Google follows the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which formally changed the name for 'Lake Ontario' to 'Lake America' in the United States, according to Google's announcement about the change, posted Saturday: "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. These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now."

https://www.404media.co/google-maps-lake-america-lake-ontario-name-change

MapQuest’s app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario

image via techcrunch.com
image via techcrunch.com

The “OG of online mapping,” as the company calls itself, announced on Thursday that it would not change the name of Lake Ontario on its maps to Lake America, despite Trump’s executive order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to update the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming service. As a result, MapQuest’s mobile app downloads soared, sending the iOS app to the No. 4 position on the U.S. App Store’s Top Charts for apps (not including games) as of Monday morning on the U.S. east coast.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/mapquests-app-surges-to-no-1-in-navigation-after-refusing-to-rename-lake-ontario/

Could Trump’s AI-generated Taylor Swift endorsement be illegal?

image via techcrunch.com
image via techcrunch.com

On Sunday, former President Donald Trump posted a collection of memes on Truth Social — the platform owned by his media company — that make it seem like Taylor Swift and her fans are coming out in support of his candidacy. But as new legislation takes effect, these images could have deeper implications about the use of AI-generated images in political campaigns, especially when those images misrepresent a celebrity’s likeness.

https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/19/could-trumps-ai-generated-taylor-swift-endorsement-be-illegal/