Snapchat has temporarily removed its Giphy GIF sticker feature after a user saw an extremely racist GIF as an option. Snapchat confirms to TechCrunch “As soon as w were made aware, we removed the GIF and have disabled Giphy until we can be sure that this won’t happen again.
The spokesperson says that all GIFs in Snapchat are meant to be “rated PG”, meaning they’re mostly suitable for the 13-and-up teens that are technically allowed on Snapchat. But now Snapchat tells me “We’ve disabled [the feature] while we wait for Giphy’s team to take a look at it.”
The GIF includes disturbing text including a racial slur, which TechCrunch has blurred out. It reads “N—– Crime Death Counter – Keep Cranking Bonzo, the Numbers Just Keep on Climbing”. TechCrunch received a screenshot of the image from a reader. Warning: the image below may be disturbing to some readers:
Snapchat risks an unsavory reputation if it can’t keep its content under control. The slip-up could deter Snapchat from working more with outside developers, which it’s only recently allowed to bring content into its app via its Lens Studio and the Giphy integration.This isn’t Snapchat’s first run-in with racist content. Back in 2016 it was heavily criticized for creating an asian “yellowface” stereotype augmented reality lens that gave people slanted eyes.
