September 1, 2026 · Political Spectacle & Unusual Conduct
· Corporate compliance with official action
Well supported
Apple Renames Lake Ontario 'Lake America' After Trump Called the Company Directly, the Interior Secretary Says
Apple Maps showed Lake Ontario labeled "Lake America" on Sept. 1, according to a review by Axios, five days after Trump signed an executive order renaming the lake. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Fox Business the day before that Trump had contacted Apple directly about the change. Google made the same switch for U.S. users over the weekend, citing the updated federal Geographic Names Information System. MapQuest said it would not change the name.
A president telephoning individual companies about how they label a shared international body of water, and those companies complying within days, shows how quickly a naming decision that binds only federal databases can propagate into the maps most people actually use.
Canadian officials have said they will not use the name, and Canadian users of both services continue to see Lake Ontario. Apple did not respond to Axios's request for comment, and Burgum's account of the call has not been confirmed by the company.
A president telephoning individual companies about how they label a shared international body of water, and those companies complying within days, shows how quickly a naming decision that binds only federal databases can propagate into the maps most people actually use.
Canadian officials have said they will not use the name, and Canadian users of both services continue to see Lake Ontario. Apple did not respond to Axios's request for comment, and Burgum's account of the call has not been confirmed by the company.