Instagram has been blasted on social media for approving a GIF/sticker that says “Mute White People.”
Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich took to Twitter on Monday to share an image of the new anti-white addition in the photo-sharing platform’s library, noting: “Instagram has a ‘mute white people’ button in stories.”
Social media personality Ashley St Clair also shared a screenshot of the GIF, saying: “I’m going to need an explanation for this new racist Instagram sticker.”
For those asking if it’s real: pic.twitter.com/2Hl2YvDEqh
— Ashley StClair 🇺🇸 (@stclairashley) July 13, 2020
“Not only is it real,” St Clair said in a video later posted to Twitter, “it’s one of the first GIF options when you type in mute.”
The Washington Examiner reports: “Called the ‘unbothered sticker,’ it was uploaded to online database GIPHY by Refinery29, a media outlet aimed at a female audience, GIPHY’s website shows. GIPHY moderates which GIFs are approved to be shared in its library and, subsequently, platforms, such as Instagram.”
GIPHY’s website boasts of their moderation process, stating:
“To ensure that GIPHY stickers will always be fun and safe no matter where you see them, we have an enhanced moderation process for approving stickers into our library. This is a permanent part of our moderation process and may impact the turnaround time for uploaded content to appear within the Sticker API (which powers partners such as Instagram.”
Other stickers in the library include, “Pay Black Women,” “Reparation$$$,” and “Afro-Latina Magic.”
Following the online backlash and criticism that the sticker was “racist,” Instagram decided to remove the image from its library.
“The real question is, is Refinery29, the company that uploaded the GIF, going to make a statement?” St Clair said in a follow-up video. ” Is GIPHY, the company who approved the GIF — and in their own words, prides themselves of their approval process for GIFS — are they going to make a statement? Is Instagram or Facebook going to make a statement?
“These are the questions we need to ask because if this were any other race, we would have had a statement yesterday,” she added.