Jun 10, 2017

Apple bans Pepe the frog game from app store

Spirit Realm Games / YouTube

Pepe the frog, the once-innocuous meme that was co-opted by the Alt-right, has become a symbol of hate. And now, its hateful association has gotten it banned from the Apple app store, per NY Mag.

Pepe Scream, a seemingly harmless mobile game similar to Flappy Bird, was removed from Apple's app store. The guidelines dictate the company can ban anything "offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, or in exceptionally poor taste." The game itself isn't offensive, but the Pepe meme (the unofficial symbol for national groups who spew hateful, racist messages online) is upsetting to some.

Don't forget: Pepe's creator, Matt Furie, tried to reclaim the symbol from the hateful groups that had taken it for online use. Then, he killed his beloved meme in protest of how it had been used by the Alt-right. And the Anti-Defamation League has ruled Pepe a hate symbol, but only when used in certain circumstances.

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