The War on White Avatars
In remarks that managed to sound both urgent and exquisitely procedural, Black Lives Matter official D’Aryll Scott-Jones, Director of All Things That Matter, called for immediate boycotts of websites “that allow white supremacists to hide behind blank, lily-white avatars in their comments sections.” Mr. Scott-Jones made the comments during an interview with National Public Radio, carefully distinguishing between speech, symbolism, and the unacceptable chromatic neutrality of default profile icons.
“White avatars allow bigoted crackers to spew their venom while hiding in plain sight,” Mr. Scott-Jones said. “They also allow racists to signal other racists. All those white avatars are missing is a white sheet and hood.”
The remarks quickly reached Mark Zuckerberg, who announced that Facebook would take immediate steps to offer “avatars that look like America.” Mr. Zuckerberg suggested that eliminating all-white avatars entirely was now under active consideration, pending internal reviews, stakeholder alignment, and several thousand pages of disclaimers.
Facebook declined to specify how many politically appropriate avatars users could expect. However, observers noted that if the platform’s existing fourscore gender options are any guide, the forthcoming avatar system will resemble a regulatory flowchart crossed with a personality quiz, designed less to express identity than to document it.
Early testers reported spending significant time customizing avatars before abandoning the process altogether, citing decision paralysis, dropdown vertigo, and a creeping suspicion that they were being graded.
Facebook reassured users that the initiative would promote inclusion, reduce harm, and reflect lived experience. Users confirmed that it did, at minimum, reflect their increasing reluctance to comment on anything at all.
The Rest of the Story
Facebook has quietly acknowledged that most new avatars are no longer chosen by users at all, but generated automatically by AI systems trained on browsing history, purchasing behavior, and facial expressions captured during moments of doubt and crisis. The company described the feature as “optional,” clarifying that users could opt out by submitting a notarized affidavit and waiting six to eight weeks.
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