It appears that Google Maps has renamed the Russell Senate Office Building to the McCain Senate Office Building.
By Wednesday morning, users noticed when the Russell Senate Office Building was searched in Google Maps, they were directed to the McCain Senate Office Building, indicating that the name of the building was changed.
Following the passing of Senator John McCain, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his plans to change the name of the building, which is currently named after Georgia senator and white supremacist Richard B. Russell Jr.
Google noticed the premature name change by Wednesday afternoon and when McCain Senate Office Building is searched in Google Maps, it redirects to the Russell State Office Building.
A Google spokesperson told CNN that the name change was done in error and suggested that it was probably by users suggesting it should be changed.
“We empower people to contribute their local knowledge to the map, but we recognize that there may be occasional inaccuracies or premature changes suggested by users,” the Google spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “When this happens, we work to address as quickly as possible,” Google added.
Although Google says the untimely name change was a result of user suggestions and its now redirected back to the original name, the McCain’s name is still on the map.
The initial search shows the current name at the official location, but when you zoom in on the map, you can still see a location for McCain Senate Office Building. Since Google announced it was addressing the issue, it’s likely that users will still see the name change in Google Maps until it’s completely fixed.
Russell Senate Office Building name change emerges after Trump accuses Google
The Google Maps Russell Senate Office Building error came after President Donald Trump accused Google of being “rigged,” saying “Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media,” in a tweet Tuesday morning.
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
It’s unclear if or when the official name change proposed by Schumer will go through but it appears that either Google users are demanding for change.
