Snapchat is under fire after it released a filter to honor Juneteeth, the celebration of the end of slavery, where users had to smile and break some animated chains added to the photo:
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
The company has since apologized:
Snapchat says it's sorry for a Juneteenth filter that required users to "smile" to break chains that appeared on the screen. https://t.co/aSBV9OcdMH
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 19, 2020
Snapchat was already being criticized after it refused to release diversity numbers “because it would reinforce the perception that Silicon Valley isn’t diverse”:
Headline from 8 days ago via @businessinsider https://t.co/hXf3eNxraK pic.twitter.com/wFJSFxH9S5
— Deepa Shivaram (@deepa_shivaram) June 19, 2020
LOL:
Who in the world thought this was a good idea?! https://t.co/SoY0EyDBF9
— Jon Alba (@JonAlba) June 19, 2020
We would love to have been a fly on that wall:
Somebody pitched this idea. In a meeting. To other humans. WHO ALL AGREED. https://t.co/sTurWZkH3b
— Jonathan Deutsch (@JonathanD_TV) June 19, 2020
It’s like HBO’s hit comedy “Silicon Valley” come to life:
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) June 19, 2020
Definitely “Hall of Fame” material:
cc: Terrible Product Ideas Hall of Famehttps://t.co/YJcikYXM3g
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) June 19, 2020
Now, if you really want to do something positive today, go support a Black-owned business and put your phone down:
For Juneteenth, how about supporting black-owned businesses, especially restaurants which have had a hard go of it during COVID. Many great spots to choose from in Austin, and I am a big fan of Hoover's.https://t.co/5b9KMlHpIj
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) June 19, 2020
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