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SNAPCHAT HAS MADE a photo filter quickly disappear after an online uproar branding it an offensive stereotype of Asians worthy of the label ‘yellow face’.
The lens overlaid faces in photos with cartoon visages featuring slanted eyes, wide cheeks and toothy grins.
Snapchat pulled the lens after its release ignited concerns it was insulting and racist. The company said the filter was meant as a playful take on anime characters and promised it would not return to circulation.
The Southern California-based social network was hit with similar charges of being racially insensitive earlier this year after releasing a Bob Marley filter that people could use to add graphics of dreadlocks to photos.
The filter which Snapchat said it designed in the spirit of the late reggae star also modified facial features and darkened skin tone.
Snapchat estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day.
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