Snapchat has removed a Juneteenth filter that required users to smile in order to break a series of chains in the backdrop behind them, acknowledging that it was "offensive" and went live before being properly reviewed by the company.
The filter used the Pan-African flag as a backdrop. As users of the app smiled, chains appeared behind them and broke. After the filter went live Friday morning, some users took to social media to criticize it for being insensitive.
Snapchat wrote in a message on Twitter, "We deeply apologize for the offensive Juneteenth lens. The lens that went live hadn't been approved through our review process.
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