Netizens cannot let go of emojis. In many of their messages to friends and family members, it will always have the emoticon. However, not all emojis are created equal. Some may appear offensive in light of the recent events.
Take for example, the "TwitchCop" emote from video live streaming platform Twitch. It has recently been removed from the roster to avoid issues since the emote showcases an animated police officer. Here's how it looks like.
Breaking: Twitch removes TwitchCop emote ‘to prevent misuse’ https://t.co/ijbUvPBoUj #tech #icymi #socialmedia pic.twitter.com/yZs3OQQo53 — EmpireDynamic ADX (@EmpireDynamic) June 4, 2020
"TwitchCop" is an emoji of a police cop blowing his whistle. Twitch spokesperson told The Verge that they would remove this for now to avoid misuse. The platform joins other apps that recently are making adjustments in lieu of the current events around.
Police brutality
This decision is based on the ongoing protests against racial injustice and police brutality after the killing of another African-American in the hands of law enforcement officers. This time, the late George Floyd and the way he succumbed to death sparked protests with peaceful demonstrators utilizing truncheons, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and more. There is no definite time yet on when these protests will subside and end.
The emoji isn't very well known compared with others, such as the smiley emoticons. However, there are still users that use them in their content. Perhaps the company decided it's best to remove it for now to avoid trolls and harassment.
Twitch emotes are distinctive small images posted with the reactions to live streams. Considering there are videos of the protests, the emoticon might be misused. The rest of their emoji set is created by Twitch Partners and Affiliates.
To give a background, Twitch's "TwitchCop" emoji was introduced to the platform in 2017. The reports added that it was once taken down before the recent decision, but was still viewable via cached URL. Whether it will be restored in the near future, there is no official statement from the company.
"We made the decision to proactively pull down the TwitchCop emote to prevent misuse. We are constantly evaluating our policies to ensure we are addressing emerging behaviors and language on our platform," the spokesperson said.
More changes
NewsBrig reported that Snapchat will cease to promote U.S. President Donald Trump in its Discover section. This is their response over his comments made last week on George Floyd's death.
"We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover," Snapchat executives said. "Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society, and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America."
Netizens are also calling for other social media platforms to join them in their campaign, urging them to make the needed changes. Twitter hasn't removed Trump's account and related accounts. Meanwhile, Facebook received backlash from their community over its refusal to take action or regulate posts.
