Apple Called Out by UK Charity STAMMA After its Emoji Appears to Mock People With Stutter

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 06 July 2021, 03:07 pm

Apple is in hot water due to its offensive emoji that shows up when you type the word "stammering." A charity in the United Kingdom was the first to call out Apple to use a woozy face to describe people who have a speech impediment.

Apple's Offensive Emoji

The apps and the keyboard on the iPhone are prone to suggesting emoji alongside the words you type in. On July 6, a charity publicly complained about one suggestion, which shows a "woozy face" emoji when users type the word "stammering."

The British Stammering Association called STAMMA claims that hundreds of its members have contacted it after they saw the offensive emoji on their iPads and iPhones when typing the word, according to Apple Insider.

STAMMA CEO Jane Powell said that the "woozy face" emoji is damaging and demeaning. Powell pointed out that stammering is how some people talk, and treating it as a joke is stigmatizing.

Also Read: Apple's New Diverse Emoji Are Here And This Is What They Look Like

The Apple emoji for "stammering" can leave people feeling conscious and embarrassed about how they sound, and it could increase their chances of getting bullied, which could eventually affect their mental health, confidence, relationships, and careers.

The members of STAMMA added that the emoji appears in various apps, including WhatsApp, Facebook, and iMessage, with it surfacing when the keyboard is in use.

The emoji in question is known on Emojipedia as "woozy face," and it takes the form of a face with one eye half open and an uneven, awkward smile, according to 9to5 Mac.

In WhatsApp, the emoji shows a face with a sticking-out tongue, while its official Unicode 11 name is "Face with Uneven Eyes and Wavy Mouth."

Apple has not responded to the issue, and it is not known why the emoji appears on the iOS keyboard. However, it is possible that machine learning may be behind it.

Apple, and other tech companies, add machine learning into their products, which can be used to determine things like emoji usage or common word for specific terms, which could be why the "woozy face" pops up.

AppleInsider did a little experiment to see if machine learning is behind the emoji. The publication noted that the "woozy face" began appearing in Emoji search for the term "Stam" before becoming the only available emoji at "Stamm."

Meanwhile, typing in "Stut" brings up an emoji with closed eyes and angry expressions, which is also known as "Confounded Face" and "Persevering Face."

STAMMA said that it has reached out to Apple about the controversial emoji and requested it to be changed.

The charity group also requested its members and supporters to report the issue directly to Apple and label the report as "Inappropriate Emoji," under complaint case number 101412774805.

Controversial Emojis

This is not the first time that Apple's emojis were criticized. In 2015, Apple released a set of human emojis, with a couple of them having yellow skin tones.

Many people pointed out that the yellow-faced emojis represented Asians and called out the tech company for racism.

According to Business Insider, the yellow-faced emojis are a product of the natural default of the iOS, and it does not represent the Asian skin tone.