The developer of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has removed the “okay” hand gesture from its video game amid growing fears that players were using it as a white supremacy hate symbol, according to the Independent.
The gesture had been a popular way for players of the multiplayer-shooting game to celebrate victory. In recent years, however, the gesture has been co-opted by white supremacists as a signifier of white power.
The gesture has now been replaced in “Call of Duty” by an animated emote known as a “crush.”
“Call of Duty” developer Infinity Ward acknowledged the controversy in a recent tweet.
“There is no place for racist content in our game. This is an effort we began with launch and we need to do a better job,” the company wrote. “We’re issuing thousands of daily bans of racist and hate-oriented names. But we know we have to do more.”
The OK gesture was adopted as a racist sign around 2017, when it was popularized on message board 4chan.
Hammer and Nigel have more on the controversy in today’s edition of “Are You Okay with This?”
https://omny.fm/shows/hammer-and-nigel-show/are-you-okay-with-this-6
