the seen
Roblox, Popular Kids’ Computer Game, Removes Virtual
Nazi Gas Chambers
Roblox, a collaborative computer gaming platform for children as young as
7, has faced serious criticism over the years for failing to properly moderate
its content — with antisemitism and racism rife, according to multiple reports.

Now the platform says it has removed a virtual Nazi concentration camp
featuring gas chambers that users could operate.

In a report, the Daily Mail revealed the existence of the concentration
camp game, which included tall watchtowers, gas chambers and train tracks
apparently representing the cattle cars that brought Jews to Nazi death
camps to be murdered.

The game featured gas chambers which users could operate by pressing
a button with the word “execute” or enter to experience the death of their
avatar, or the computer fi gure representing the player, by gassing.

Roblox released a statement to the Daily Mail in which it said it had
removed the concentration camp game and condemned extremism and
antisemitism. “We have zero tolerance for content or behaviours that promote or glorify
extremism, including antisemitism. We have removed the experiences in
question and banned the individuals who created them. We work tirelessly
to maintain a platform that is safe, civil and inclusive, and use manual and
automated detection tools to swiftly remove experiences that do not comply
with our community standards,” the company said.

Roblox experienced a major increase in popularity during the pandemic as
more children began playing the game while at home during lockdowns and
used the game, which allows players to interact, to stay in touch with friends.

The growth means that more people are present to encounter and
In this photo illustration, the Roblox app seen displayed on a smartphone screen and a
Roblox logo in the background.

participate in illicit content that has plagued the platform for years, in a
refl ection of the internet’s well-known tendencies.

In recent months, the platform has been plagued with recurring game
rooms in which players engage in sexually explicit conversations and in
which their avatars engage in sex acts. The company has said it removes the
games quickly, but they frequently reappear.

The sexually explicit game rooms have also been reported to include
avatars dressed in Nazi uniforms.

— Shira Hanau
SNL: NBC, via YouTube via JTA; Roblox: Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett y Images via JTA
‘SNL’ Parodies ‘Fiddler’ — and a Famous Chasidic-run Camera Store
horrors of the New York subway system, from erratic
service to sketchy passengers to, yes, the “Mole Men”
who are said to live in the tunnels.

“If I were a mole man,” he sings, adding in some
“yubba-dubbas” from the “Fiddler” classic, “If I Were a Rich
Man. “All day long I’d drink a shoe of rum, if I were a mole
per-son!” Soon Mulaney is joined by a chorus line of Chasidic
dancers, who do a credible version of the tavern scene
from the show. But wait, there’s more: When someone
asks, “Was that the actual cast of ‘Fiddler’?”, Mulaney
replies, “No, there’s just a lunch break at B&H Photo.”
Even many New Yorkers may need a footnote here: B&H
Photo is an electronics megastore in Midtown Manhattan
famously owned and staff ed by Satmar Chasidic Jews.

John Mulaney and Kenan Thompson perform a parody of “Fiddler on the Roof” with a chorus line of Chasidic
dancers on “Saturday Night Live” on Feb. 26.

It was once even slapped with a lawsuit claiming it
discriminates against non-Jewish employees (the suit was
dismissed). “Saturday Night Live” is famously “Live from New York,” and in the latest
The skit, called “Subway Churro,” went on to include parodies of “South
episode the show doubled down on the promise.

Pacifi c,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Music Man,” “Les Misérables” and
In a skit on last week’s episode, guest host John Mulaney led the cast in a
“Dear Evan Hansen.” The “Chasidic” dancers returned for the fi nale — based
parody of Broadway musical numbers that included an homage to “Fiddler
on, what
else, “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
— Andrew Silow-Carroll
on the Roof.” Mulaney plays a newsstand operator who sings about the
4 MARCH 3, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



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