Infinity Ward has removed the OK gesture from Call Of Duty, with many assuming it’s over fears of it being interpreted as a racist hate symbol.
To most people it’s an innocent gesture meant to indicate that everything is okay but after being adopted as a hate symbol by the far right it’s quietly disappeared from Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone.
Neither Activision or Infinity Ward has commented on the move but it seems pretty obvious why it’s happened, with everyone from fans on Reddit to Eurogamer making the connection.
The emote had become very popular with Call Of Duty players, especially as a way to end a successful match, but Infinity Ward has now replaced it with a new emote called ‘crush’.
The more innocent use of the OK symbol goes back centuries but its use as a hate symbol dates back to 2017 and an attempt on 4chan to make the media believe that it had a sinister meaning.
That in turn led to the symbol being adopted by the alt-right, who often perform the gesture in photographs, secretly or otherwise.
The Anti-Defamation League describes the symbol as a ‘sincere expression of white supremacy’ but also notes that ‘care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture’.
The move is not a surprise as Infinity Ward has been very proactive about trying to make the Call Of Duty community less toxic, especially in the light of the recent Black Lives Matter protests.
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