Despite an alarming rating of 4.5 stars, Facebook is in the process of taking down a game that allowed players to control a priest throwing stools at gay pride parade marchers.
The game, called Call of Taburetka, recreates the violence that broke out last month during a rally to mark International Day Against Homophobia in Tbilisi, Georgia, which injured 17 people. Thousands of anti-gay protesters, including robed Georgian Orthodox priests, attacked lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) marchers using stones, sticks and a stool, according to the Huffington Post. The game’s name translates to “Call of the Stool.”
Gamers control the stool-throwing priest of the mob, as depicted in the video below, and participate in the riots of May 17 by attacking LGBT activists.
The Huffington Post reported that closer to 1,000 people have liked the game on Facebook, which has 2,600 users, and that the game’s developer claims the game is not homophobic.
“Dear friends, this game it not anti-gay. it just describes what happened on may 17. From author,” wrote a Georgian named Kakha Giorgashvili on Facebook.
Facebook users and gay rights advocates have been speaking out and petitioning for the game’s removal all day.
Sal Mattos, a writer for Gay Gamer, responded: “Maybe I’m missing something but I’ve never found anything ‘funny’ about priests beating gay people with chairs.”
A Facebook representative told Huffington Post the game is in the process of being taken down since it does not meet community standards, which prohibit hate speech.
“We take action against apps that violate our platform policies … in order to maintain a trustworthy experience for users,” a representative told the Huffington Post in an email.
H/T Huffington Post | Photo via YouTube