Google Maps is deleting critical reviews of the Gulf of Mexico after President Donald Trump renamed it to the “Gulf of America,” prompting the tech giant to follow suit.
Last month, Trump declared his intent to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico ― a name that’s been in place for hundreds of years ― to the “Gulf of America” because “it’s ours,” Trump said.
Since his decision went into effect, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it would be changing the name to “Gulf of America” in all future charts and maps.
On Monday, Google officially changed the name on Google Maps for U.S. users, saying in a statement that it was following a “longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
The change came despite a letter from Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum to the company in January asking them not to rename the Gulf.
Apple Maps also changed the name.
Since the change, Google Maps has been deleting 1-star reviews critical of the new name, according to Forbes.
In a statement to HuffPost, a Google spokesperson said the company has “regularly put protections on places during times when we anticipate an uptick of contributions that are off-topic or unrelated to someone’s direct experience with the place.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Gulf has a review of 4.5 out of 5 stars. It was not possible to leave a review for the renamed Gulf.
“Posting is currently turned off,” a message on the “Gulf of America” review page reads. Google did not respond to a question from HuffPost asking when it plans to allow reviews.
The Trump administration has been celebrating the new change, including in a social media post from the White House.
On Tuesday, reporters for The Associated Press were shut out of an executive order signing because of the publication’s refusal to adhere to the name change.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” Julie Pace, the executive editor of AP, said in a statement. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt falsely claimed Wednesday that “it is a fact” that the Gulf of Mexico is called the “Gulf of America.”
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“It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I am not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.”