Snapchat, the popular social media application that allows users to share short videos, is in hot water over its new batch of filters. The application uses advanced facial graphing technology that gives users the ability to make their face look like a dragon or a puppy. This is a wildly popular part of the platform but one that has got Snapchat in trouble.
This month, Snapchat debuted a feature that it said was inspired by Japanese anime but seemed to recycle racist stereotypes of Asian people from the 1940s, with narrow eyes and exaggerated teeth. The feature was quickly discontinued after a flood of criticism from users and the tech press. In the past, Snapchat has been accused of promoting whitened skin tones over dark ones in its application. But the latest feature went too far.
This type of latent racism is not occurring in a vacuum. Throughout this year, prejudice has been an unavoidable current in political discourse from the US presidential election to the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote. The statements of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump about Mexicans, Muslims, women and the disabled have single-handedly moved the boundaries of acceptable discourse in American political life.
The storyline is remarkably similar with each instance: Mr Trump makes an over-the-top or racist comment only to walk it back days later. The social residue, however, is much more corrosive and doesn’t easily wash out of our collective consciousness.
With this in mind, Snapchat’s latest “Asian” filter is more serious than simply a joke gone bad. Given that Snapchat is popular among young adults, the subconscious effects of subtle racism and stereotyping could translate into overt racist feelings later in life. Coupled with the toxic rhetoric coming from politicians across the West, younger generations are facing a wave of prejudice in the public sphere – for some, they may not even be aware that it could be any different. The pushback against Snapchat’s mistake is commendable – but any company that aspires to being a global corporation needs to be much more careful.
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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