Social media giant Facebook are refusing to bow to pressure from Christian users calling for a “cross” emoji to be included in the available Facebook reactions.
The plea has gained attention after being shared by online personality, Evangelical Christian, and former pastor Joshua Feuerstein, using an image created by fellow Facebook user Hikmat Hanna.
Their campaign calls for a cross emoji to be introduced to represent Christianity, in response to the inclusion of a rainbow flag "pride" emoji for Pride Month celebrations that took place in June.
The rainbow flag has been used as a symbol by the LGBTQI+ community since the 1970's, and featured heavily in the many Pride Marches held around the world in June.
Feuerstein is well-known for his strong stance against abortion, same-sex marriage and conservative opinions on other hot-button issues. He is also no stranger to criticising big businesses, previously claiming Starbucks "removed Christmas" from their holiday coffee cups because they "hate Jesus".
Speaking to the Huffington Post on this issue, Facebook have said:
“This reaction is not actually available on Facebook, and is not something we’re working on.”
The body responsible for moderating the emojis on your phone, Unicode Consortium, have strict guidelines on how emojis are developed and distributed and at present do not allow people, deities, or business logos. So odds are you won't be seeing this emoji on your Facebook feed or in an emoji update anytime soon.
