this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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Summary

Google Maps has blocked reviews for the Gulf of Mexico after backlash over renaming it "Gulf of America" for U.S. users, following a Trump executive order.

Critics accused Google of censorship after it removed negative reviews. Google defended the move, citing policies against off-topic content.

Mexico’s President Sheinbaum opposed the change and may take legal action. Apple Maps also adopted the new name.

The controversy adds to concerns over tech companies aligning with Trump, following Meta’s rollback of fact-checking and diversity initiatives.

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[–] RabbitBBQ@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago

Can they make Google list Canada as a state along with Greenland, then we won't have to invade???

[–] cows_are_underrated@feddit.org 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Always remember: Fascism is a feature of capitalism. In desperate times capitalism pushes facism.

Also capitalists are always gone be happy to work with fascists, because it gives them more power and money.

Fascism is a feature of being human.

Self-described communists can also fall very easy into fascism; remember the Soviets were friendly with the Nazis while they both launched imperial expansionist campaigns across Eastern Europe and split Poland between each other. Hitler and Stalin found common ground in being "anti- Western capitalism". Some historians call the USSR the "red fascists".

I think real, global communism will be the solution to fascism. It will require the overthrow of all capitalist systems.

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

More evidence that Corporations are psychopaths in pathological pursuit of profit, just as Joel Bakan wrote.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee 1 points 6 days ago
[–] Elshar@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

I mean just watch that video of Eric Schmidt of Google that came out last year. It's pretty shocking how bold they are in their willingness to break laws and social norms for money.

[–] PhoreTwunny@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

When do we start burning data centers to the ground?

[–] Macallan@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Good luck with that. The Data centers I have been on have more security than many military bases I've been on.

[–] Eezyville@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 days ago

Just do what they did on that episode of Mr. Robot. Raspberry Pi hack to the HVAC system.

[–] breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca 141 points 1 week ago (41 children)

Just downloaded Organic Maps as a replacement. No ads/tracking plus it's open source and uses OSM. Seems pretty cool so far.

[–] happydoors@lemm.ee 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Magic Earth is a great companion for turn-based driving GPS. I just need these apps business search and discovery to be better. For example, it’s really easy to find coffee shops and compare quickly using google maps and it’s basically impossible on open source methods. Wider adoption should help but it feels years away for normal people with short patience to try.

[–] goldfndr@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I was going to mention that if you're out and about, StreetComplete and Every Door and MapComplete are excellent for gamifying casual contributions. OsmAnd has savable custom searches.

But if you're wanting to compare, I'm gussing you might be wanting more than opening hours and cuisine, perhaps reviews?

[–] bitwolf@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago

OSM community may add a locale metadata for Gulf of America for en-US.

[–] LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I like organic maps but if you are not in a pretty densely populated area that people update regularly, you’re straight up just not going to have some things on it for years. Even in major cities you need to get used to knowing the exact address to input, as well as understand that it is not giving you an optimal route that takes into account things like traffic or road construction or other variables. It basically just gives you what it thinks is the shortest distance from point A to point B, which is more often than not not the best route.

I like it, I use it for probably 30-40% of my navigation. But you have been warned. It’s akin to pre-loaded car navigation from 15 years ago.

[–] lengau@midwest.social 10 points 6 days ago

The solution, of course, is to become an OSM contributor.

[–] zqps@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago

The dataset ("what you have on it") and the quality of navigation are two very different things. For the first you can help directly to address it, for example with the app StreetComplete.

[–] bitwolf@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I am in a more remote area. Coverage is good in towns but not on residential streets.

I use StreetComplete as I walk around new areas and try to fill things in. It gamifies it a little bit with "quests" but you can do your own thing.

Its great seeing the fast feedback loop into Organic Maps at the next update.

[–] LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 1 points 6 days ago

So street complete fill outs OM?

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[–] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 80 points 1 week ago (30 children)

People need to stop using Google shit services. Like, seriously. There are so many other good services provided by other companies or even just people who make them for fun as a hobby.

[–] DampSquid@feddit.uk 38 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Google Maps has been hardest for me to replace. No one else seems to have the business directory aspect as good. Happy to hear suggestions!

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[–] wandermind@sopuli.xyz 68 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If anybody actually read the text of the executive order, they would immediately see that, unlike Trump & co. claim, it actually does not rename the Gulf of Mexico:

rename as the ‘‘Gulf of America’’ the U.S. Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba in the area formerly named as the Gulf of Mexico

This "renames" as "Gulf of America" the part of Gulf of Mexico in US territorial waters. (Though how you can "rename" something which never had a specific name is unclear to me.) In other words, it is simply incorrect to label the entire gulf as Gulf of America even according to the text of the executive order. Instead, Gulf of America should be a sub-area in the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico.

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[–] Menu@slrpnk.net 64 points 1 week ago

Google also blocks bad reviews about Tesla Gigafactory Berlin.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qjrBvt1bxnBTmeoU6

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 48 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Anyone else remembering the good old "do no evil" times from Google, where it actually was and enrichment for humanity?

And here we are today.

Fuck large companies, open source software is the only way forward

[–] Strider@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Always has been.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 32 points 1 week ago

Ah yes censoring your detractors, the go-to move of someone who is confident that they're in the right

[–] kewjo@lemmy.world 30 points 1 week ago

I guess it's time to give Google campuses 1 Star reviews?

[–] ninjabard@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago

I gave it a 5 star rating and left this as my review.

"Regardless of what a Racist, Fascist, Fear-mongering, Election rigging POS would have you believe; it's the Gulf of Mexico."

[–] AfricanGrey@lemmy.zip 19 points 1 week ago

Google mad at the public for trying to shove them off of Trump's cock hissing as they clamp back down even harder.

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