{
  "id": 5361479,
  "title": "MapQuest Refuses to Relabel Lake Ontario, Rewarded With Surge in Popularity",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/mapquest-refuses-to-relabel-lake-ontario-rewarded-with-surge-in",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-03T16:30:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daring Fireball",
    "slug": "daring-fireball",
    "url": "https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6063924-mapquest-tops-apple-google-maps-in-downloads-after-refusing-trumps-lake-america-change/?ref=ihnatko.com"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "MapQuest has experienced a surge in popularity on app charts following the mapping service's decision not to rename Lake Ontario to \"Lake America\" as ordered by President Trump. The company's mobile app saw hundreds of thousands of downloads after announcing that the name Lake Ontario would remain unchanged on its apps. By Monday morning, MapQuest had claimed the top spot among navigation apps in Apple's U.S. app store and No. 4 in non-gaming apps. In Canada, the app rose to No. 2 overall. The app's usage increased to approximately 50 times its normal level, according to MapQuest. Despite the political controversy, MapQuest continues to hold the #1 spot on Thursday, outpacing apps like ChatGPT, Vinted, TikTok, ESPN Fantasy Sports, Claude, and Gemini.",
  "summary": "Finya Swai, reporting for The Hill two days ago: MapQuest has surged in popularity on the app charts after the mapping service said it would not rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” after President Trump signed an executive order changing its name. The company said its mobile app received hundreds of thousands of downloads after it announced Thursday that the name Lake Ontario would remain on…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Digital Trends",
        "title": "Free mapping app MapQuest surges in popularity after refusing to rename Lake Ontario",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/free-mapping-app-mapquest-surges-in-popularity-after-refusing-to",
        "published": "2026-09-03T10:21:37.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "Apple and Google rename Lake Ontario to Lake America; one app refuses Trump’s order",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/apple-and-google-rename-lake-ontario-to-lake-america-one-app-refuses",
        "published": "2026-09-03T12:20:47.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}