Snapchat Removed this Insensitive Filter after Accused of being Racist

Snapchat had launched Juneteeth- an insensitive filter a few days back that asked users to smile in order to break chains. After getting into several controversies,  the photo-sharing app had to remove it from its platform on Friday.

Juneteeth day is celebrated to commemorate the end of slavery in the US. This day is celebrated on June 19. However, since this year, many people were fighting for racism and people are very sentimental these days, many companies gave a paid holiday to people however it’s not an official holiday.

Snapchat Under Fire for Launching an Insensitive Filter

Why Snapchat came into the fire is that an ex-employee from the company revealed that the company’s editorial practices were racially biased. Actually, when users smiled to break the chains, a pan African flag appeared behind them. Many black users voiced their discomfort regarding it.

This SnapChat #Juneteenth filter is…um…interesting.

Smile to break the chains? Okay then. pic.twitter.com/Wyob3kT3ew

— Mark S. Luckie (@marksluckie) June 19, 2020

So Snapchat made a Juneteenth filter… I dunno how to feel about it. pic.twitter.com/m671iBV7di

— Hi, I’m Kel and my Black life matters. ✊?? (@YummiKoko69) June 19, 2020

After realizing the mistake, the company apologies for this insensitive filter and revealed that the final product was not approved through Snapchat’s review process. Here’s what the company said about it:

“We deeply apologize to the members of the Snapchat community who found this Lens offensive. A diverse group of Snap team members were involved in developing the concept, but a version of the Lens that went live for Snapchatters this morning had not been approved through our review process. We are investigating why this mistake occurred so that we can avoid it in the future.”

 

Also Read: Snapchat Users can Now Use Voice Commands to Search for Lenses