Editing Emoji (section)

==<span id="Emoji communication problems">Emoji communication problems</span>==
{{see also|Models of communication}}

Research has shown that emoji are often misunderstood. In some cases, this misunderstanding is related to how the actual emoji design is interpreted by the viewer;<ref name="DailyDotMisunderstandEmoji">{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/emoji-miscommunicate/|title=Emoji can lead to huge misunderstandings, research finds|work=Daily Dot|first=Selena|last=Larson|date=April 11, 2016|access-date=March 30, 2017}}</ref> in other cases, the emoji that was sent is not shown in the same way on the receiving side.<ref name="GrouplensEmojiMiscommunication">{{Cite web|url=https://grouplens.org/blog/investigating-the-potential-for-miscommunication-using-emoji/|title=Investigating the Potential for Miscommunication Using Emoji|publisher=Grouplens|first=Hannah|last=Miller|date=April 5, 2016|access-date=March 30, 2017}}</ref>

The first issue relates to the cultural or contextual interpretation of the emoji. When the author picks an emoji, they think about it in a certain way, but the same character may not trigger the same thoughts in the mind of the receiver.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-the-emoji-youre-sending-actually-look-like-to-your-friends/| title=What the Emoji You're Sending Actually Look Like to Your Friends| date=November 12, 2015| publisher=Motherboard| access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> For example, people in China have developed a system for using emoji subversively so that a smiley face could be sent to convey a despising, mocking, and obnoxious attitude, as the [[orbicularis oculi]] (the muscle near that upper eye corner) on the face of the emoji does not move, and the [[orbicularis oris]] (the one near the mouth) tightens, which is believed to be a sign of suppressing a smile.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/944693/chinese-people-mean-something-very-different-when-they-send-you-a-smiley-emoji/ |title=Chinese people mean something very different when they send you a smiley emoji |website=Quartz|date=March 29, 2017}}</ref>

The second problem relates to encodes. When an author of a message picks an emoji from a list, it is normally encoded in a non-graphical manner during the transmission, and if the author and the reader do not use the same software or operating system for their devices, the reader's device may visualize the same emoji in a different way. As an example, in April 2020, British actress and presenter [[Jameela Jamil]] posted a tweet from her iPhone using the Face with Hand Over Mouth emoji (🤭) as part of a comment on people shopping for food during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. On Apple's [[iOS]], the emoji expression was neutral and pensive, but on other platforms the emoji shows as a giggling face. Some fans thought that she was mocking poor people, but this was not her intended meaning.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/emojipedia-lookups-at-all-time-high/ |title=Emojipedia Lookups At All Time High |date=April 15, 2020 |access-date=May 9, 2020}}</ref>

Researchers from the German Studies Institute at [[Ruhr University Bochum|Ruhr-Universität Bochum]] found that most people can easily understand an emoji when it replaces a word directly – like an icon for a rose instead of the word 'rose' – yet it takes people about 50 percent longer to comprehend the emoji.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scheffler |first1=Tatjana |last2=Brandt |first2=Lasse |last3=Fuente |first3=Marie de la |last4=Nenchev |first4=Ivan |date=February 2022 |title=The processing of emoji-word substitutions: A self-paced-reading study |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |language=en |publication-date=25 October 2021 |volume=127 |pages=107076 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2021.107076|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Variation and ambiguity===
Emoji characters vary slightly between platforms within the limits in meaning defined by the Unicode specification, as companies have tried to provide artistic presentations of ideas and objects.<ref name="Lost in translation: Android emoji vs iOS emoji">{{cite web|last1=Allsopp |first1=Ashleigh |title=Lost in translation: Android emoji vs iOS emoji |url=http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/opinion/mobile-phone/lost-in-translation-android-emoji-vs-ios-emoji |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228093209/http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/opinion/mobile-phone/lost-in-translation-android-emoji-vs-ios-emoji/ |archive-date=December 28, 2014 |date=December 15, 2014 |website=Tech Advisor |access-date=August 15, 2015 }}</ref> For example, following an Apple tradition, the calendar emoji on Apple products always shows July 17, the date in 2002 Apple announced its [[iCal]] calendar application for [[macOS]]. This led some Apple product users to initially nickname July 17 "[[World Emoji Day]]".<ref>{{Cite news|title = Letting Our Emojis Get in the Way|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/18/nytnow/letting-our-emojis-get-in-the-way.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 17, 2015|access-date=August 25, 2015|first=Kathryn|last=Varn}}</ref> Other emoji fonts show different dates or do not show a specific one.<ref name="Calendar emoji">{{cite web|title=Calendar emoji|url=http://emojipedia.org/calendar|website=[[Emojipedia]]|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref>

Some Apple emoji are very similar to the SoftBank standard, since SoftBank was the first Japanese network on which the iPhone launched. For example, {{unichar|1F483|DANCER|nlink=💃}} is female on Apple and SoftBank standards but male or gender-neutral on others.<ref name="How Emoji Get Lost In Translation">{{cite news|last1=Bosker|first1=Bianca|title=How Emoji Get Lost in Translation|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/emoji-meaning_n_5530638.html|work=Huffington Post|date=June 27, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref>

Journalists have noted that the ambiguity of emoji has allowed them to take on culture-specific meanings not present in the original [[glyph]]s. For example, {{unichar|1F485|NAIL POLISH|nlink=💅}} has been described as being used in English-language communities to signify "non-caring fabulousness"<ref name="How to (pretend to) be young and down with the internet">{{cite news|last1=Hern|first1=Alex|title=How to (pretend to) be young and down with the internet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/how-to-be-young-internet-lol-facebook|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=August 12, 2015|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref> and "anything from shutting [[wikt:hater|haters]] down to a sense of accomplishment".<ref name="The 31 Most Nail Care Emoji Moments Of 2014">{{cite web|last1=Jewell|first1=Hannah|title=The 31 Most Nail Care Emoji Moments of 2014|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahjewell/the-most-nail-care-emoji-moments-of-2014|website=Buzzfeed|date=December 13, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref><ref name="The Five Non-Negotiable Best Emojis in the Land">{{cite web|first1=Alexander|last1=Abad-Santos|first2=Allie|last2=Jones|title=The Five Non-Negotiable Best Emojis in the Land|url=http://www.thewire.com/culture/2014/03/the-only-five-emojis-you-need/359646/|website=The Atlantic Wire|date=March 26, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2015|archive-date=August 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820011420/http://www.thewire.com/culture/2014/03/the-only-five-emojis-you-need/359646/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Unicode manuals sometimes provide notes on auxiliary meanings of an object to guide designers on how emoji may be used, for example noting that some users may expect {{unichar|1F4BA|SEAT}} to stand for "a reserved or ticketed seat, as for an airplane, train, or theater".<ref name="Unicode Consortium">{{cite web|title=Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs|url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/beta/nameslist/n_1F300.html|website=Unicode Consortium|access-date=September 15, 2017}}</ref>

===Controversial emoji===
{{multiple images|align=right|direction=horizontal |image1=Android Emoji 1f52b.svg |image2=Noto Emoji KitKat 1f52b.svg |image3=Noto Emoji Lollipop 1f52b.svg |image4=Noto Emoji Oreo 1f52b.svg |image5=Noto Emoji Pie 1f52b.svg |footer=Evolution of the [[pistol emoji]] as rendered by stock [[Android (operating system)|Android]] systems. From left to right: Jelly Bean ([[pistol]]), KitKat ([[blunderbuss]]), Lollipop ([[revolver]]), Oreo (revolver) and Pie ([[water gun]]).|total_width=500}}
Some emoji have been involved in controversy due to their perceived meanings. Multiple arrests and imprisonments have followed the usage of pistol ({{unichar|1F52B}}), knife ({{unichar|1F5E1}}), and bomb ({{unichar|1F4A3}}) emoji in ways that authorities deemed credible threats.<ref name=AppleGun>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/01/technology/apple-pistol-emoji/index.html |title=Apple replaces the pistol emoji with a water gun |last=Kelly |first=Heather |website=[[CNN]] Tech |date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>

In the lead-up to the [[2016 Summer Olympics]], the Unicode Consortium considered proposals to add several Olympic-related emoji, including medals and events such as [[handball]] and [[water polo]].<ref name=newsweek>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/new-emoji-candidates-be-voted-spring-2016-385196 |title=New Emoji Candidates to Be Voted On in Spring 2016 |last=Ziv |first=Stan |website=[[Newsweek]] |date=20 October 2015 |access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> By October 2015, these candidate emoji included "[[ISSF shooting events|rifle]]" ({{unichar|1F946}}) and "[[modern pentathlon]]" ({{unichar|1F93B}}).<ref name=ep20151031>{{Cite news |url=https://emojipedia.org/unicode-9.0/ |title=Unicode 9.0 Emoji List |date=31 October 2015 |work=Emojipedia |access-date=1 October 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031233229/https://emojipedia.org/unicode-9.0/ |archive-date=2015-10-31 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="OlympicRifle" /> However, in 2016, Apple and Microsoft opposed these two emoji, and the characters were added without emoji presentations, meaning that software is expected to render them in black-and-white rather than color, and emoji-specific software such as onscreen keyboards will generally not include them. In addition, while the original incarnations of the modern pentathlon emoji depicted its five events, including a man pointing a gun, the final glyph contains a person riding a horse, along with a laser pistol target in the corner.<ref name=AppleGun /><ref name="OlympicRifle">{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/thanks-to-apples-influence-youre-not-getting-a-rifle-emoji |title=Thanks To Apple's Influence, You're Not Getting A Rifle Emoji |last=Warzel |first=Charlie |website=[[BuzzFeed]] |date=June 17, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name=AppleStops>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/rifle-emoji-dropped-unicode-9-0-update-apple-microsoft-1.3645884 |title=Apple stops Unicode from releasing a rifle emoji, gun advocates get mad |website=[[CBC News]] |date=June 22, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>

{{multiple images|align=right|direction=horizontal|image1=Twemoji 1f52b.svg|alt1=Drawing of a revolver|image2=Twemoji12 1f52b.svg|alt2=Drawing of a water pistol|footer=Original (left) and revised (right) [[Twitter]] designs, showing the transition from a [[revolver]] to a [[water pistol]]|total_width=200}}
On August 1, 2016, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] announced that in [[iOS 10]], the [[pistol]] emoji ({{unichar|1F52B}}) would be changed from a realistic [[revolver]] to a [[water pistol]].<ref name=AppleGun /> Conversely, the following day, Microsoft pushed out an update to [[Windows 10]] that changed its longstanding depiction of the pistol emoji as a toy [[raygun]] to a real revolver.<ref name=MicrosoftGun>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/04/microsoft-new-real-gun-emoji/ |title=Microsoft just changed its toy gun emoji to a real pistol |last=Low |first=Cherlynn |website=[[Engadget]] |date=August 4, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref> Microsoft stated that the change was made to bring the glyph more in line with industry-standard designs and customer expectations.<ref name=MicrosoftGun /> By 2018, most major platforms such as Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook, and Twitter had transitioned their rendering of the pistol emoji to match Apple's water gun implementation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/all-major-vendors-commit-to-gun-redesign/|title=All Major Vendors Commit to Gun Redesign|date=April 27, 2018|work=Emojipedia|access-date=May 13, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Apple's change of depiction from a realistic gun to a toy gun was criticised by, among others, the editor of [[Emojipedia]], because it could lead to messages appearing differently to the receiver than the sender had intended.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36985359|title=Apple urged to rethink gun emoji change|last=Baraniuk|first=Chris|website=[[BBC News Online]]|date=2016-08-05|access-date=2020-07-22}}</ref> ''[[Insider Inc.|Insider]]''{{'s}} Rob Price said it created the potential for "serious miscommunication across different platforms", and asked, "What if a joke sent from an Apple user to a Google user is misconstrued because of differences in rendering? Or if a genuine threat sent by a Google user to an Apple user goes unreported because it is taken as a joke?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/apple-change-pistol-emoji-toy-confusion-precedent-meaning-retroactive-2016-8|title=There's a huge problem with Apple's plan to combat gun violence by changing an emoji|last=Price|first=Rob|date=2016-08-02|access-date=2020-07-22|website=[[Insider Inc.|Insider]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231217025421/https://www.insider.com/apple-change-pistol-emoji-toy-confusion-precedent-meaning-retroactive-2016-8 |archive-date= 17 December 2023 }}</ref>

The [[eggplant emoji|eggplant (aubergine) emoji]] ({{unichar|1F346}}) has also seen controversy due to it being used to represent a [[penis]].<ref name=AmericanDialect /><ref name=Bromwich /><ref name=EggplantRising>{{cite journal |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/users/2015/04/eggplant_rising_how_the_purple_fruit_surpassed_the_banana_as_the_most_phallic.html |title=Eggplant rising: How the purple fruit surpassed the banana as the most phallic food |last=Hess |first=Amanda |journal=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=April 3, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name=SordidHistory>{{cite web |url=https://firstwefeast.com/features/2015/06/eggplant-emoji-history |title=The Complete (and Sometimes Sordid) History of the Eggplant Emoji |last=Hofmann |first=Regan |website=[[First We Feast]] |date=June 3, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409115458/https://firstwefeast.com/features/2015/06/eggplant-emoji-history |url-status=dead }}</ref> Beginning in December 2014, the [[hashtag]] {{nobr|#EggplantFridays}} began to rise to popularity on [[Instagram]] for use in marking photos featuring clothed or unclothed penises.<ref name=EggplantRising /><ref name=SordidHistory /> This became such a popular trend that, beginning in April 2015, Instagram disabled the ability to search for not only the {{nobr|#EggplantFridays}} tag, but also other eggplant-containing hashtags, including simply {{nobr|#eggplant}} and {{nobr|#🍆}}.<ref name=EggplantRising /><ref name=SordidHistory /><ref name=InstagramBlocks>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/04/29/technology/eggplant-instagram-offensive/ |title=Instagram blocks 'offensive' eggplant emoji hashtag |last=Goldman |first=David |website=[[CNN]] Tech |date=April 29, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>

The [[peach]] emoji ({{unichar|1F351}}) has likewise been used as a euphemistic icon for [[buttocks]], with a 2016 [[Emojipedia]] analysis revealing that only seven percent of English language [[Twitter|tweets]] with the peach emoji refer to the actual fruit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/how-we-really-use-the-peach|title=How We Really Use The Peach|first=Hamdan|last=Azhar|date=December 16, 2016|work=Emojipedia|access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/selectall/2016/12/what-does-peach-emoji-mean-its-a-butt.html|title=Very Official Study Finds Peach Emoji Most Often Paired With Eggplant|first=Madison|last=Kircher|date=December 16, 2016|work=Emojipedia|access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2018/01/18/what-do-the-aubergine-and-peach-emoji-mean-7240646/|title=What do the aubergine and peach emoji mean?|first=Avinash|last=Bhunjun|date=January 18, 2018|work=Metro UK|access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref> In 2016, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] attempted to redesign the emoji to less resemble buttocks. This was met with fierce backlash in beta testing, and Apple reversed its decision by the time it went live to the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/16/everything-is-peachy-as-apple-restores-emojis-bum-features|title=Everything's peachy as Apple restores emoji's 'bum' features|first=Alex|last=Hern|date=November 16, 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=December 20, 2017}}</ref>

In December 2017, a lawyer in [[Delhi]], [[India]], threatened to file a lawsuit against [[WhatsApp]] for allowing use of the [[The finger|middle finger]] emoji ({{unichar|1F595}}) on the basis that the company is "directly abetting the use of an offensive, [[Lascivious behavior|lewd]], obscene gesture" in violation of the [[Indian Penal Code]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://metro.co.uk/2017/12/27/lawyer-demands-whatsapp-gets-rid-lewd-middle-finger-emoji-7186571/|title=Lawyer demands WhatsApp gets rid of the 'lewd' middle finger emoji|date=December 27, 2017|work=Metro|access-date=December 28, 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref>