Google recently removed a game titled “Bomb Gaza” from Google Play after numerous complaints surfaced. Bomb Gaza has players piloting and Israeli jet fighter and dropping bombs on “terrorists” in Gaza while avoiding killing civilians. The game ends when you max out your “rage meter” when you kill too many civilians.
A Google spokesperson says that the company does not comment on specific apps and that Google removes games that violate Google Play’s policies that do not allow “content advocating against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, (or) religion.”
Bomb Gaza was released on Google Play on July 26 and, according to UK’s Guardian newspaper, was downloaded around 1,000 times before being removed from Google Play. The game has also been removed from Facebook.
Bomb Gaza’s developer, PlayFTW (Google Play, Facebook), says that the “game was a joke made in 2 hours” and that “it is based on avoiding killing civilians.” Arutz Sheva reports that spokesperson Roman Shapiro also added, “As usual, Jews are demonized by everyone. Not surprised.”
Roman, you and everyone at PlayFTW are unmitigated assholes!
Google has also removed other games about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict like Whack Hamas, Hamas Rockets, Rocket Pride and Gaza Assault: Code Red. However, some games like Iron Dome continue to be available on Google Play.
As inhumane and distasteful as I find the existence of a game like Bomb Gaza, its removal from Google Play raises an interesting question: do we want companies like Google and Facebook, or Apple, or Amazon or any corporation, to be the gatekeepers of political speech. Matt Peckham asks if a game like Bomb Gaza is ”so different from caustic political cartoons or scathing op-eds?”
Evelyn Beatrice Hall wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
I disapprove of Bomb Gaza. I am infinitely pleased that it is gone and I will never defend the right of PlayFTW to publish the game.
But what can I say when, in time, the powers that be censor content that I support? What do you think should be done with offensive content?
