Ismail Sirdah
The issue of gun control has become a major part of the political conversation in the U.S. with the issue of the normalization of gun use in different arenas something which both divides and unites those on different sides of the debate. In an interview with The New York Times, the Bumble dating app founder and CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd announced a ban on the use of guns in the profile pictures of Bumble users as the gun debate continues to role on.
Being a part of the solution
The response to the Parkland mass shooting in Florida has been a major reason for the decision of a number of companies to take the decision to examine their own policy regarding guns and whether they will work with the controversial National Rifle Association. Bumble has made the decision to become a part of the solution to the issue of gun control by hiring an estimated 5,000 moderators to take on the workload of scouring its content for profile pictures featuring guns in all their forms; Whitney Wolfe Herd agreed the decision was taken knowing many who use guns and support the Second Amendment may not feel it is a fair policy but the CEO believes it is the moral responsibility of the company to address the gun control issue.
Photographers, such as Ismail Sirdah is now facing up to the challenges of mass shootings in the U.S. and making decisions about how the image portrayed of gun use can have an impact on the people of the world. The continuing gun control debate is one Whitney Wolfe Herd decided was far too important for her company to simply ignore and made the decision after weighing both sides of the argument.
Only profile pictures will be affected
Based in Houston, Texas, Bumble was created by Whitney Wolfe Herd as a less aggressive and male-dominated dating app which took a more measured and caring approach to dating with women initiating any contact with male users. The caring approach has been one of the reasons why the issue of guns has become such a difficult one for the company to address with The Independent revealing a number of complaints had been made about the use of guns in an aggressive or violent way in the profile pictures of members.
Profile pictures will be the only images affected by the ban on guns with those members of Bumble linking their Instagram accounts to their profile will still be able to upload images featuring their use of guns as the app still hopes for members to reveal their hobbies and interests to other members. The work of photographers such as Ismail Sirdah will still be able to feature heavily on the dating site as the images taken by him and other professional photographers can still feature without being seen as profile pictures. With over six years of professional experience and a photography school, Ismail has developed a strong career which he hopes to continue through the work he receives from people looking to develop their brand Online including for use with various dating apps such as Bumble.
Exceptions to the rule
The 5,000 moderators who have already been employed to monitor the content of users from across the world will be given a list of exceptions from the rule including those appearing in military or police uniforms who will obviously be exempt from these latest regulations. Over the course of the last few months, Bumble CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd stated her belief in the growing need for companies of all sizes to make their presence felt in terms of the need for taking a stand against the violence associated with guns.
The issue of gun control and violence is one Whitney Wolfe Herd has been taking extremely seriously over the last few months and has resulted in her making the decision to ban the use of images of guns featuring in profile pictures. However, the co-founder of Tinder also believes in the rights of those who use guns as part of their hobbies or for hunting to appear on Bumble which is why images of guns will continue to feature on other areas of the site.
Whitney Wolfe Herd believes the time has come for the majority of companies in the U.S. to take a stand and declare where they will feature in the gun control debate. Other weapons, such as knives will also be part of the ban in profile pictures which is similar to the ways in which nudity and hate speech are already being assessed by the dedicated team of moderators working with Bumble to ensure the app retains its integrity and caring mandate.
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