Viral FaceApp Is Being Accused of Racism for One Blatant Reason
All of your friends have done it and you probably have too. FaceApp is the latest viral trend taking over social media, as people get a kick out of seeing what they might look like as someone of the opposite sex, someone younger, and as someone much older (you can also add a smile, although that’s not as much fun, TBH). But now, some people are accusing the app of being racist.
First things first: Have you tried the app? What did you think of the results? Did you notice anything… off? Perhaps with your skin tone?
If so, you’re not alone. That’s why some users are claiming that FaceApp is lightening people’s skin when they use the “Hot” feature. Which is pretty darn racist.
#faceapp is super racist. This is their "spark" aka "hot" filter. pic.twitter.com/LzkZT6aWwq
— Maureen Rose (@mo_hegs) April 25, 2017
#faceapp isn't' just bad it's also racist…🔥 filter=bleach my skin and make my nose your opinion of European. No thanks #uninstalled pic.twitter.com/DM6fMgUhr5
— Terrance AB Johnson (@tweeterrance) April 19, 2017
So I downloaded this app and decided to pick the "hot" filter not knowing that it would make me white. It's 2017, c'mon guys smh#FaceApp pic.twitter.com/9U9dv9JuCm
— Shahquelle L. (@RealMoseby96) April 20, 2017
Since I did my face reveal, I also did the face app thing, tell me what you think, also "hot" me is just me with lighter skin, so racist, :P pic.twitter.com/l2rrVobWyW
— Doooy (@_Doughy_) April 23, 2017
Mashable got in touch with FaceApp founder and CEO Yaroslav Goncharov, who was totally apologetic, saying, “We are deeply sorry for this unquestionably serious issue. It is an unfortunate side-effect of the underlying neural network caused by the training set bias, not intended behavior. To mitigate the issue, we have renamed the effect to exclude any positive connotation associated with it.” That makes it… clear?
For now, this means the “Hot” feature has been renamed to “Spark” but still has the same result when applied to pics. That’s why Goncharov assures users that they’re “working on the complete fix that should arrive soon.” Let’s hope it arrives sooner rather than later, otherwise they risk losing a heck of a lot of users in the meantime.
What do you think about the accusations that FaceApp is racist (as well as the CEO response to the sitch)? Let us know @BritandCo!
(h/t Mashable; photos via Sean Gallup/Getty, FaceApp)