Snapchat under fire for 'blackface' Bob Marley filter

Snapchat has been widely rebuked for a filter inspired by Bob Marley that digitally darkens a user's skin tone.

The popular image-sharing app launched the lens yesterday to coincide with 420, an unofficial day of celebrating cannabis culture.

The filter superimposed the reggae musician's trademark dreadlocks and Rastafarian-style hat over the user's image, while also changing their features and darkening their skin.

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It faced immediate criticism online, with many users describing it as a form of "blackface". Others were less concerned with the skin colour in the filter, and more annoyed that the music legend and renowned black rights activist was being solely associated with smoking marijuana.

Commentators were equally unimpressed, with Forbes describing it as "one of the most jaded and ill-conceived marketing stunts in social media history".

New York Magazine argued that while it is great to celebrate Marley, a legendary musician and icon for peace and justice, "maybe there were better days to do it on?"

Snapchat insists that it created the lens with the Bob Marley Estate as a way of honouring the musician's legacy. "[It] gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music," the company said, adding that "we respect his life and achievements".

But permission "doesn't make the feature any less racist", says The Guardian. "Marley was the voice of poor people and black liberation in a space very few artists ever have access to, a distinction that deserves due respect."

We can laugh at the "seemingly bottomless culture of internet outrage", says Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon, but "it's actually not that hard to take a pause and think, 'Is what we're doing here insensitive and idiotic?'… To the folks at Snapchat who thought this little gimmick was cute, I have to ask – what were you smoking?"