A quick resistance task for you and everyone you know:
1. Google Gulf of Mexico.
2. “Gulf of America" will be the top Google answer.
3. Click on the three little dots to the right of “Gulf of America.”
4. Select "Send Feedback"
5. Click on "Gulf of America" text.
6. Select "Inaccurate content."
7. Select "Incorrect" and type this in: "The correct name of this body of water is “Gulf of Mexico."
People are suggesting reporting a bug on Google Maps for the “Gulf of America” name, and I can't help but think that's completely pointless. Maybe for many things, there's automated “too many errors reported” systems, but I betcha there's a special exception for “Gulf of America”, to ignore that. Google can (do?) get billions of dollars in government money. They're gonna autoignore all your error reports rather than risk losing that. If you want to do something, stop using google maps!
@faoluin Hi! A variation of this post also made it to Bsky, and someone else mentioned something important there:
This is likely already being completely ignored due to Google's contentious edits policy and detections for inauthentic traffic. By all means do this because it's quick, as there's a vague chance the data is being collected internally even with it being ignored, but please pair this with efforts that are likely to make more of an impact.
Some alternatives I recommend:
1. Using 5calls.org to call and message electeds if you live in the States. They provide scripts to do this, and yelling at them about this Gulf of America nonsense is a small effort with a big impact, even if you're phone-shy. Some electeds consider 20 calls or emails a huge response, and unlike Google, they are required to have an actual human being listen to your requests.
2. If you do not live in the states, consider signing up to petitions on this issue owned by your local government agencies. Those have a much higher chance of breaking through and making your voice heard than reporting volume to Google.
3. Separate from them trying to rename the Gulf of Mexico, consider gumming up the snitch lines being set up in the states with emails and texts. Sure would be a damn shame if they had no actionable data to work with on those.
And a probable (4): if you ever need advice on where to provide the most impact that corporations will actually see, consider asking engineers who are sympathetic to your cause.
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