Google[1] rushed Wednesday to fix its popular Maps application after it renamed the Russell Senate Office Building after Sen. John McCain[2].
The company blamed overzealous McCain[3] fans for the move, which saw the building just across the corner from the Capitol as the “McCain Senate Office Building” on the search engine’s maps of the capital city.
“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 company said in a statement. “When this happens, we work to address as quickly as possible. We have implemented a fix for this issue that is rolling out now.”
Google[4] didn’t say who exactly had made the change, but by Wednesday afternoon searches for “McCain Senate Office Building” returned a map properly labeled the Russell building.
A proposal to officially rename the building has been floating among Mr. McCain[5]’s former colleagues since moments after the senator’s death was announced Saturday — though GOP leaders are taking a go-slow approach, saying they want to form a commission to study the appropriate tribute
Though Mr. McCain[6] was a Republican, it’s been Democrats who have driven the renaming idea....
They’re eager not only to honor a colleague who was more beloved by Democrats than GOP voters in recent years, but also to delete the current name of the building, which honors Sen. Richard Russell, a major figure from the middle of the last century, but also a segregationist.