Instagram users call out platform over filter featuring swastika tattoo

The filter has been making its way around the internet and makes it look like your body is covered in tattoos.

News 12 Staff

Jul 3, 2021, 2:10 AM

Updated 1,189 days ago

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Instagram users are calling out the platform for what they say is antisemitic over a filter that appears to have a swastika symbol on it.
The filter has been making its way around the internet and makes it look like your body is covered in tattoos. The effect is called 'old school.' Even after it was reported to the platform, the filter remains.
Rabbi Charles Klein, of the Merrick Jewish Center, says something needs to be done to stop this endorsement of Nazi symbols that he says we see popularized on social media.
"You stop hatred in its tracks, you don't give it a platform or forum to be spread," says Klein.
The swastika actually dates back thousands of years and was used as a symbol of peace by early religions. However, Klein says the symbol's link to Nazis and genocide of the Jewish people is a reason it should be banned.
"I have to assume that if someone parades the swastika, they do it with intention of growing hatred of the Jews in this world," says Klein.
Sen. Anna Kaplan says she's taken aback by the filter.
"Instagram is part of younger generations daily life and to see something like this they are basically normalizing it," says Kaplan.
News 12 reached out to Instagram but has not heard back.