“Pure insanity”: Trump versus Shooter map allowed on Fortnite Discover, community left outraged by lack of moderation
Fortnite Discover has grown to become a place where players can explore vast collections of creator-made experiences and engage in an experience different from other battle royales. However, while this is undoubtedly a blessing, the Fortnite Discover menu’s moderation has seemingly not been receiving the attention it deserves.
This was highlighted in a recent X post shared by @DummblondGaming, where the player showcased a map titled “Trump VS Shooter”, referencing the recent assassination attempt of former US President Donald Trump. Being such a sensitive issue, one would think Epic Games’ moderation system would keep this map at bay and not allow it to be published.
However, to many players’ surprise, the map was published and shared to the Fortnite Discover menu for players to select and get into, leading X user @AlexeyZebol to react and state:
“Pure Insanity”
Other members of the community shared their opinions regarding the moderation issue around Fortnite Discover. X user @GhoulzOfficial highlighted the irony of maps as insensitive as this being approved while simple, innocent maps like Hide and Seek and Prop Hunt maps get regularly rejected. Meanwhile, X user @Jayden12369420 pointed to the name of the creator behind the map being BLMStudio, another insensitive aspect of the map.
X user @BrumWisseme, on the other hand, expressed their disappointment with the fact that the Creative mode and the Unreal Editor for Fortnite were initially meant to highlight the community's creativity, only to be boiled down to maps like Trump VS Shooter. X user @MM2ir echoed these sentiments, highlighting the game's journey from Early Access Save The World to this.
Epic Games' moderation needs to improve to allow creativity to flourish on Fortnite Discover
While Fortnite Discover is meant to be a place of lightheartedness and creativity, there is no doubt that maps like Trump VS Shooter are incredibly insensitive due to their connections to real-world issues. This begs the question of why Epic Games' moderation continues to fail at not just voice chat reporting but also moderating maps.
At this point, there have been too many instances of inappropriate or insensitive maps being published to the Discover menu while harmless maps continue getting denied and refused to be published. Epic Games simply needs to improve its content moderation to enable players to truly create experiences that they want rather than the same copy-paste maps that are re-titled and reworked to capitalize on real-world issues and incidents.
Update (July 16, 2024) - Epic Games has since removed the island and issued the following statement:
"This island is no longer available due to a violation of Fortnite’s Creator Rules, which prohibit depictions of real-world violence. We continually evolve our rules, policies, and moderator training, and also encourage players to report inappropriate conduct and content."
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