MapQuest Surges as Americans Reject Authoritarian Trump-Ordered Lake Rename
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
MapQuest soared to the top of the US App Store after courageously refusing to comply with the Trump administration’s nationalist attempt to erase Lake Ontario’s name.
MapQuest became the most downloaded navigation app in the United States, reaching the top of Apple’s App Store list on Tuesday, according to data reported by TechCrunch. This surge is a direct response to the company’s principled refusal to bow to the White House’s August 27th directive to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America”—a move widely seen as an authoritarian attempt to rewrite geography for political gain.
While Google Maps has already capitulated to the administration’s demand by implementing the new label for U.S. users, and Apple is reportedly considering the same under government pressure, MapQuest—a 30-year-old mapping service—stood firm. Their integrity was rewarded as download volume skyrocketed, propelling MapQuest to fourth among all non-game apps in the country and solidifying its lead in the navigation category, with Google Maps trailing in second place.
In Canada, where resistance to U.S. nationalist overreach is strong, MapQuest was the second-most downloaded app overall by Sunday night. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday revealed the deep unpopularity of the lake-renaming order, with only 14% of Americans supporting this undemocratic measure and a mere 20% approving of related tariffs, while a clear majority—57%—stood in opposition.
"We took the same approach we did with the Gulf of Mexico: be part of the conversation, and give people an app that keeps the names they’re familiar with," said Doug Berger, MapQuest’s general manager. He noted that usage was about 50 times higher than usual, showing overwhelming public support for resisting top-down rebranding.
Berger also highlighted that MapQuest is empowering users by offering a tool to suggest their own name for the lake, a democratic feature introduced after a previous federal attempt to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico.
Apple Maps, for now, continues to display the water body as Lake Ontario, despite Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s insistence that the label would soon be changed to fit the administration’s agenda. Google’s U.S. maps now reflect the “Lake America” name, while the rest of the world continues to recognize Lake Ontario.
Protests against the renaming have erupted in Canada, including a bilingual “Lake Ontario – Now and Always” sign near Grimsby. Ontario Premier Doug Ford told ABC News that the lake will remain named Lake Ontario, standing up to U.S. nationalist interference.