this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
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DeGoogle Yourself

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[–] hulfpa@lemmy.ml 137 points 1 month ago (14 children)

This move makes zero sense to me. Why, change it? It's not it's official name or international recognized name so wtf

[–] Darorad@lemmy.world 106 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Curry favor with the trump admin

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 75 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

And it will undoubtedly pay off for them. This is the first brazenly tech oligarchy-driven administration.

Remember who was at Trump’s inauguration? Musk, obviously, but also:

  • Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
  • Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
  • Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta
  • Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet

.
Trump, a populist president, is flanked by tech billionaires at his inauguration

Tim Apple isn’t your friend, either. No oligarch is.

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[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 month ago (3 children)

To be clear, they've changed names in line with official government policy before, not just for Trump's admin.

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[–] stevedice@sh.itjust.works 66 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

The USA is now part of a list of "sensitive countries" with authoritarian states with their own version of reality. When users in one of the countries on this list visit Google sites, they see that government's version of reality. This is nothing new. Google does it all the time with disputed territories. It's only news because it's the first time the US has an authoritarian government.

Here's how it looks when visiting from a Mexican device with the language set to Australian English while located in Hungary.

1000019054

Edit: undoxxed myself lol

[–] KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

In Google maps set to Polish while in the UK, it shows

Zatoka Meksykańska (Zatoka Amerykańska)

Which translates to

Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)

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[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 38 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Distraction from:

  • closing down the Consumer Protection Agency, USAID, and the Education Agency
  • cutting off funding to the universities
  • stealing our student, treasury and health records while taking over the purse
  • not following federal judge's orders
  • building an unregulated concentration camp in Cuba
  • etc.

Edit: That's why trump did it. All tech companies are in his hands now.

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[–] MolecularCactus1324@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I think I heard that Trump did it because he thinks it gets him around some Biden era rule that he can’t reverse that bans oil drilling in parts of the “Gulf of Mexico.” It’s really stupid. Exxon and Chevron have both “acknowledged” the name change.

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[–] HappySkullsplitter@lemmy.world 97 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (6 children)

It's even weirder because America doesn't mean just the United States

Geographically, America is too ambiguous of a name for the Gulf of Mexico

Wouldn't the Gulf of California also qualify as being the Gulf of America?

The Caribbean Sea?

Basically every river system from the Mississippi and and the Amazon are also "American" from northernmost point of North America to the southernmost point of South America, it's all "America"

Naming the Gulf of Mexico "America" is almost as bad as naming a country "earth"

[–] SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 32 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Hey since America is the center of the earth, we should change it to the Gulf of Central America!

[–] pdxfed@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Mexico's full name is ”The United States of Mexico", I think they should rename their map's version to Gulf of The United States just to add to the confusion and make the point these things, like all facts, are useless when people suffer no consequences from making them up.

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[–] SeekPie@lemm.ee 71 points 1 month ago (3 children)
[–] Aetherion@lemmy.world 23 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Organic Maps is really cool :-)

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[–] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 62 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

Even in the UK they have put Gulf of America.

The UK Government doesn't recognize that name and have officially stated they wont (at least in the short term)

[–] generic_computers@lemmy.zip 34 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I live in the US and I won't recognize the name either.

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[–] Limonene@lemmy.world 62 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Meanwhile on Openstreetmap:

name Golfo de México

name:en Gulf of Mexico

official_name:en_US Gulf of America

Showing just enough acknowledgement to confirm they've discussed the executive order, but they aren't going to follow it.

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[–] helloyanis@jlai.lu 54 points 1 month ago (20 children)

No better time than the present to switch to OpenStreetMap

For Android, I use OsmAnd~ which uses OpenStreetMap data and allows you to download maps to calculate routes offline, something Google Maps couldn't do for routes by foot and by bike last time I tried.

It also has better coverage for some small paths in natural areas like forests. Give it a try!

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[–] DontRedditMyLemmy@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I will continue deadnaming the gulf with the name assigned at birth. It's just going through a phase.

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[–] jokeyrhyme@lemmy.ml 49 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Planet America, orbiting the American sun, in the galaxy called America

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[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 40 points 1 month ago (6 children)

Time for a repeat comment: Organic Maps does everything Google Maps does (except traffic conditions), and is FOSS. Please encourage places to contribute business information to Open Street Maps.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago (6 children)

"Except traffic" is not a little thing. It's like putting up an ad for a house with all the features you'd expect, except a roof.

With my daily commute, there are a dozen routes I can take and traffic conditions make it so that from day to day, there can be an hour difference between different routes. It's literally the only reason I use navigation apps over a cheap GPS unit with no live online connection requirement to navigate.

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[–] Hux@lemmy.ml 37 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Using the website from outside of the US shows it with its proper name, but then the asshat version in parentheses.

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[–] baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yes, Tim Apple bent the knee, but the company seems to be holding steadfast.

Apple Maps

Edit God dammit, they changed it. Cowards.

[–] jaschen@lemm.ee 26 points 1 month ago (3 children)

In Taiwan it says:

Gulf of Mexico(Gulf of America)

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[–] eldesgraciado@lemm.ee 25 points 1 month ago (8 children)

This is pathetic and reeks of insecurity big time. Hope that this debacle improves your QoL, Americans.

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[–] chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 25 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (36 children)

Degoogled since 2018

hardcore mode, google domains blocked by DNS

YouTube scrap data

GrapheneOS with used Pixel

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[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 23 points 1 month ago

1000062835

Meanwhile in the UK

[–] Spoilt@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Mexico should rename "America"

[–] smeenz@lemmy.nz 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

You mean Estados Unidos ? In Spanish, 'America' already refers to the north and south continents, not to the USA

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[–] kamen@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The irony is that it doesn't specify which America.

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[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

America is so fucking weird!

[–] jodanlime@midwest.social 16 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Only most of us. Please send help.

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[–] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

Fuck Google and Samsung and everyone else who is preinstalled on my phone from the factory. I switched my phone OS to an AOSP GSI without the Google mobile services. Will probably be switching to WordPress from Blogger.

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[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Can someone explain the 4D chess going on here? AFAIK this was just tweet diplomacy, the US hasn't passed anything about this. So why would google want to handle all the complaints and backlash they'll take for this?

[–] DontRedditMyLemmy@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago

I think something official was actually signed in the last few days. Dumbest timeline.

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[–] gunpachi 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

“There's no saving America -- we need to pull it out by the roots. Wipe the slate clean. Burn it down! And from the ashes, a new America will be born. Evolved, but untamed!”

— Senator Armstrong.

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[–] someacnt@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (15 children)

I wish I could degoogle my android phone. Sadly, it would mean many of the apps I use would stop working..

As far as I understand, only F-droid apps would work on e.g. GrapheneOS - is this wrong? I believe there would be issues with

  • Local chatting app
  • Local map app (As good as OrganicMaps is, it seems to have limited support in route finding)
  • Local banking app
  • Local investing app
  • Apps for university affairs
  • Zoom

I feel so sad that I am locked to the platform..

EDIT: Just checked, seems like everything is reported to work except for local banking app. Sadly, it is too convenient to ditch..

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