Latest Top Posts

nvidia’s-rtx-5070-gpu-isn’t-coming-out-in-february-after-all

NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 GPU Isn’t Coming Out In February After All

android-16-makes-it-easier-to-access-your-wallet

Android 16 Makes It Easier To Access Your Wallet

ukraine-is-looking-to-recruit-gamers-for-its-drone-unit

Ukraine Is Looking To Recruit Gamers For Its Drone Unit

android-16-beta-2-makes-it-easier-to-change-temperature-and-measurement-units

Android 16 Beta 2 Makes It Easier To Change Temperature And Measurement Units

gemini-advanced-can-now-recall-and-use-your-past-chats

Gemini Advanced Can Now Recall And Use Your Past Chats

Google Maps Deletes And Blocks Reviews For “Gulf Of America”

All the latest Android & Tech news Android Apps Android News Google Google Maps Google News Add Comment 3 Min Read
google-maps-deletes-and-blocks-reviews-for-“gulf-of-america”
Google Maps Deletes And Blocks Reviews For “Gulf Of America”

Google Maps recently renamed the “Gulf of Mexico” location as the “Gulf of America” soon after Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) officially relabelled the place. Soon after, a mob of vexed Google Maps users rallied on social networking sites to report the “Gulf of America” as mislabeled in protest of Google’s decision to rename the “Gulf of Mexico”. Google has now deleted the negative reviews and has blocked people from adding reviews for the “Gulf of America”.

Google Maps has blocked reviews for the “Gulf of America”

Google’s mapping service is now showing “Gulf of America” in the US, “Gulf of Mexico” for users in Mexico, and both of the names for everyone else in the world. After angry internet users left negative reviews for the place, Google Maps started deleting the “1-star” reviews of the rename. Google Maps users can no longer post reviews for the “Gulf of America” location.

In the wake of its name change, Google Maps has deleted a handful of negative reviews left by angry users of the service. Users on social networking websites claim that the site has removed hundreds of “1-star” reviews for the location. They have also accused Google Maps of “censorship”. Furthermore, the most recent review left for the location result now appears to be from a month ago.

See also  Ads Are Coming To Threads (Don't Act Surprised)

Google Maps has admitted to deleting critical, recent “Gulf of America” reviews

Google has admitted deleting important and recently posted reviews for the “Gulf of America” location in an email to Forbes. A Google spokesperson told the publication “We 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”.

The spokesperson also directed Forbes to a blog post dating back to 2023 regarding the company’s rules for tackling “policy-violating content”. It appears that Google seems to be simply enforcing its already existing content moderation rules for Google Maps for the “Gulf of America” renaming.

Furthermore, the company notes that some of these safeguards are temporary, while others could remain in place for a long time, depending on the severity of the situation. It’s worth mentioning that Apple Maps and Bing in the US now display the “Gulf of America” location name by default. However, these two mapping services haven’t received much criticism from the users.

Tags: