South Park announces satirical name change
The long-running animated series South Park announced Tuesday it is rebranding as "South America," delivering a pointed satirical response to President Donald Trump's recent efforts to rename geographic landmarks across North America.
The announcement from creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone follows Trump's executive orders renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025 and Lake Ontario to Lake America in August 2026. Both Apple and Google subsequently altered their mapping services to reflect the new names for users in the United States, citing their standard practice of following the U.S. Geographic Names Information System database. Google made the change on February 10, 2025, with Apple following the next day.
"Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA," the show's official account posted on social media platform X. The statement took particular aim at the tech companies' swift compliance with the federal naming changes, despite the Gulf of Mexico having been identified by variations of its current name since the mid-16th century when Spain occupied the surrounding areas.
The creators also directed their mockery at their parent company in the announcement. "We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount – a Skydance Capitulation," the post read, referencing the $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media that was completed in August 2025 under CEO David Ellison. The jab comes despite Parker and Stone having signed a lucrative five-year, $1.5 billion deal with Paramount in July 2025 encompassing 50 new episodes for Comedy Central and streaming rights.
Trump's broader renaming ambitions
Trump's geographic renaming campaign extends beyond bodies of water. The president has also expressed interest in changing the name of New Mexico to "New America," prompting the satirical response from the Colorado-based animated series.
The mapping changes by Apple and Google display different names depending on user location. American users see the new federal designations, Mexican users continue to see the original names, and users in other countries see both names with the traditional designation in parentheses. International organizations including the United Nations continue to use the established names, and other nations are under no obligation to adopt the American preferences.
South Park's tradition of political satire
The Emmy Award-winning series, which has aired since 1997, is known for its crude humor and fearless lampoons of political figures and social issues. Parker and Stone write, direct, and voice most of the main characters in the show set in small-town Colorado.
Recent seasons have relentlessly targeted Trump's administration. Season 27, which premiered in July 2025 after a two-year hiatus, along with Season 28, have focused heavily on depicting the president in a relationship with Satan while Vice President JD Vance schemes to come between them. The show's recent episodes portray Vance attempting to abort Satan's baby without the devil's knowledge, continuing the series' tradition of outlandish political commentary.
The name change announcement represents the latest salvo in South Park's ongoing satirical campaign against the Trump administration, demonstrating that even after nearly three decades on air, the series continues to find fresh angles for political mockery.
