Apple won't remove 'clown' emoji despite false claim

TapTechNews May 17th, recently, a screenshot has been widely circulated on social media platforms, claiming that Apple is about to remove the "clown" emoji in the iOS system update because the expression has been used as a suggestive symbol by far-right individuals. However, according to the fact-checking organization PolitiFact, the screenshot is completely fabricated.

The screenshot forged the news report of the American media CNBC with the title "The upcoming Apple device update will remove the clown emoji: Sources say the expression is used as a suggestive symbol by far-right individuals". The screenshot shows that the report was published on May 15th in the technology channel section.

But the truth is that CNBC has never published any news reports related to this, and CNBC has also confirmed this.

According to researchers who track false information, this picture first appeared on an online forum that supports the former US president Trump, and then was forwarded by a conservative social media account. Although the account has deleted the post afterwards, the false information has already been spread by other users.

Although the "clown" emoji is sometimes used to ridicule others, it is not considered a hate symbol itself.

As TapTechNews understands, the inclusion and update of iPhone emojis are mainly the responsibility of "The Unicode Consortium" and its "Unicode Emoji Subcommittee" under it. This committee is responsible for the maintenance of emojis, including adding and removing emojis.

The "Unicode Emoji Subcommittee" is also responsible for formulating the standards of emojis for Apple and other manufacturers to follow. These standards cover the general depiction method of emojis, the functions of complex emojis, and the norms of removing emojis in very few cases.