Snapchat removes ‘Break the Chains’ Juneteenth filter after public outcry
Many Snapchat users voiced their displeasure Friday morning with Snapchat, who unveiled a new filter for the Juneteenth holiday.
The filter was removed from the messaging app by 11 a.m. Eastern.
In the filter, Snapchat called on users to smile in order to break the chains behind them. The filter also featured the red, green and black Pan-African flag.
Juneteenth dates back to June 19, 1865 and is celebrated throughout the country as the day Texas slaves were proclaimed free.
But people think Snapchat missed the mark with the filter, which users said was the first time the app has celebrated the holiday.
Mark S. Luckie, an Atlanta-based digital strategist, showed video of the filter on Twitter Friday morning, The Verge reported. Luckie called it “um...interesting” and makes a confused face in the video about smiling in order to break the chains.
“This is what happens when you don’t have any Black people on the product design team,” a designer wrote on Twitter. “As a Snap alumni, this is extremely embarrassing. It doesn’t have top be this hard — how about an AR experience to inform your 229 million daily active users what Juneteenth is?”
“Why would you all think a Juneteenth filter should include ‘smiling’ as the key to break the chains of slavery?” another user asked Snapchat. “That was extremely insensitive and disheartening.”
Snapchat apologized in a statement and said a “diverse group of Snap team members” developed the concept.
“But a version of the Lens that went live for Snapchatters this morning had not been approved through our review process,” Snapchat said in a statement to McClatchy. “We are investigating why this mistake occurred so that we can avoid it in the future.”
The app also sent users an illustrated message from its Team Snapchat account. Snapchat explained the history of Juneteenth in the message.
“Juneteenth marks 155 years since the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, freeing the last enslaved people in America more than two years after it was signed,” Snapchat sent users. “Today we celebrate freedom, and will not stop fighting until we have it.”
Some people applauded Snapchat for recognizing Juneteenth, but others were still in disbelief over the filter.
“You should probably immediately rethink that Juneteenth filter...Smile to break the chains? No,” one woman told Snapchat.
“This is what happens when you don’t have any Black people in the room who are empowered to say ... no,” one person said.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 11:30 AM.