An Instagram filter featuring what appears to be a swastika is allowed by the platform, the New York Post reported.
The filter, which is labeled “Old School” in the app’s Effect Gallery, gives the appearance that a person is covered in tattoos and that one of the tattoos is a swastika, according to the NYP.
.@Instagram has some explaining to do after users called out one of the platform’s filters for being anti-Semitic.https://t.co/ec4QLYWjXk
— End Jew Hatred (@EndJewHatred) July 2, 2021
Instagram influencer Sabrina Zohar discovered the symbol when she was using the filter. (RELATED: Jews Attacked In Broad Daylight In Times Square As Anti-Semitic Attacks Spike Nationwide)
“I understand what the symbol stands for and the multiple meanings,” Zohar told the NYP. “But as someone that is Jewish, it’s hard to be reminded of the symbol that is so in your face.”
“In a world where we are so sensitive to so many things, why is this just casually included on a filter? We should all just be more aware of what is harmful to one another,” Zohar added.
Instagram reportedly has no plans to take the filter down and a Facebook spokesperson said that it “does not violate our policies,” but that the company sees how the image “can be used in cultural context that predates Nazism,” according to the NYP. Facebook owns Instagram.
Zohar purportedly reported the filter to Instagram and has urged others to do so, according to screenshots obtained by the NYP.
The filter’s creator defended the design, telling the outlet it’s a Slavic symbol for “good, the sun and life.” She added that the symbol is tilted in a different direction than the Nazi sign.
Online hate increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The ADL recently conducted a survey on online hate and found that 36 percent of Jewish respondents said that they experience harassment online. A survey from the previous year found that 33 percent of Jewish respondents had experienced hate on the web.
The survey was conducted on behalf of ADL by YouGov, which collected answers from 847 American adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
Facebook didn’t respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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