It is a line of code, in which a modifier in the form of a strike-through symbol has been applied to a rainbow flag emoji to create the offensive image.
The controversial image, resembling a crossed-out rainbow flag, is not one character. The bad news is that a glitch in the Unicode Standard is being exploited to create what is essentially hate speech in emoji form. The good news is that there is no such emoji has been designed or approved of by the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit that oversees the Unicode Standard of characters that includes emojis. Reports of an anti-LGBTQ emoji sparked alarm on social media and queer outlets this week, with many questioning why such an emoji would ever have been designed.
