Apple says it will fix ‘bug’ recommending Palestinian flag emoji
Al Jazeera
Tech giant says software glitch causes some users to get a Palestinian flag prompt when typing ‘Jerusalem’.
Apple has said it will fix a “bug” that suggests an emoji for the Palestinian flag when some iPhone users type “Jerusalem” in messages.
The US technology giant on Thursday blamed a software issue for the suggestion that had appeared on the latest update of its iOS operating system for some users and said it was not intentional.
This does not appear to have affected all users, with those in the United States reporting they did not get that suggestion after typing in the word.
British television presenter Rachel Riley pointed out the emoji suggestion on social media, bringing up a long-standing debate over whether Israelis or Palestinians have the right to refer to Jerusalem as their capital.
She noted that her latest version of the mobile operating system suggested she use the Palestinian flag “when I type the capital of Israel, Jerusalem”.