It’s easy to forget just how decisive and contentious the topic of maps can be. I’m reminded of The West Wing, Season 2, Episode 16, which perfectly captured how something we often take as fact can quickly turn on its head. If you haven’t seen it, watch this snippet—I’ll wait:

This episode came to mind recently with the executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico and reinstate the name Mount McKinley. Changes like these, once official, ripple beyond their immediate announcements. Today’s maps aren’t just printed in atlases or books—they live on our phones, computers, cars, and apps. Companies with map platforms like Google and Apple, follow international, federal, state and local government sources to define place names and borders. Unsurprisingly, Google has already announced it will update its maps to reflect these changes, and Apple will likely follow.

If this feels like uncharted territory (pun intended), it’s not. After Russia’s annexation of Crimea, many mapping companies faced pressure to update their maps to reflect Crimea as part of Russia. Apple, initially displayed Crimea as part of Ukraine globally, updating its maps to show Crimea as part of Russia—but only for users in Russia.

China has also long lobbied for maps to reflect Taiwan as part of China, sparking ongoing debates about how maps represent geopolitical realities. Even closer to home, cultural shifts are reflected in maps, like when New Orleans renamed Robert E. Lee Blvd to Allen Toussaint Blvd.

Maps are not just representations of geography—they are mirrors of history, politics, and culture. Maps are not just a picture of a territory, they have immense power in shaping how we perceive the world around us.

Update 1/29/2025: Google Maps follows the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), and under normal circumstances, changes like these would be routine and go unnoticed. However, given the divisiveness of recent name changes, this process has sparked broader debate. It’s likely that Apple and other mapping platforms follow a similar process.

Google has also reclassified the U.S. as a “sensitive country”, adding it to a list that includes China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. This designation applies to countries with disputed borders or contested place names, similar to Apple’s handling of Crimea.

Update 2/1/2025: John Gruber shared an interesting post on how OpenStreetMap is handling the Gulf of America name change. As a collaborative, community-driven platform, OpenStreetMap has sparked debate on its forums over how to reflect such changes, particularly when they intersect with political decisions. You can follow the community discussion here, where contributors weigh the balance between neutrality and adhering to local or government designations.