14th December 2017 • video
Facebook removed this brilliant 'Paki Gang' viral parody video without explanation
Image: RwnlPwnl video
It was just meant to be a light-hearted parody of a rap song.
But a Pakistani-American comedy trio are now furious with Facebook for removing their viral video without explanation. It had nearly 400,000 views and counting.
Based on the popular track 'Gucci Gang' by the rapper Lil Pump, the parody is titled 'Paki Gang'. That is probably the reason why it was removed but the explanation does not stand up they say.
"For comparison, Lil Pump's original version contains lyrics about hard drugs and sex. Our channel is a family and culture based channel that promotes positivity and cultural understanding," they wrote on their Facebook page.
"This is unfair and we believe we are being singled out because if we would have been Spanish people making the parody 'Spanish Gang' or Australians making 'Aussie Gang' this would not be happening. This is a huge error on Facebook’s part and is detrimental to diversity on the platform," they added.
The comedy group call themselves RwnlPwnl and are based in the DC - Maryland - Virginia (DMV) area.
Its founder Faras, who uses the nickname Farosty, told Barfi Culture he had been doing parodies on YouTube for nearly a decade. "I recently added Shimmer and Ayee Khan to the team in the last few years. Now it’s about 4 of us that will help put the videos together."
The group do original music, skits as well as parody songs and a series called 'Brown Code' - which features brown people attempting to explain desi culture to non-brown people in an entertaining way.
He said the 'Paki Gang' track was put together in just a few hours.
"There is nothing offensive being said in the video, no vulgar language, no drug abuse, and no sexuality or nudity whatsoever. It is a completely clean and family friendly video where we are just promoting our culture."
Barfi Culture reached out to Facebook's media centre for an explanation but have received no response yet.
RwnlPwnl added: "We've received an overwhelming amount of messages from people saying how proud they are to see representation of Pakistanis in a positive light for once."
But a Pakistani-American comedy trio are now furious with Facebook for removing their viral video without explanation. It had nearly 400,000 views and counting.
Based on the popular track 'Gucci Gang' by the rapper Lil Pump, the parody is titled 'Paki Gang'. That is probably the reason why it was removed but the explanation does not stand up they say.
"For comparison, Lil Pump's original version contains lyrics about hard drugs and sex. Our channel is a family and culture based channel that promotes positivity and cultural understanding," they wrote on their Facebook page.
"This is unfair and we believe we are being singled out because if we would have been Spanish people making the parody 'Spanish Gang' or Australians making 'Aussie Gang' this would not be happening. This is a huge error on Facebook’s part and is detrimental to diversity on the platform," they added.
The comedy group call themselves RwnlPwnl and are based in the DC - Maryland - Virginia (DMV) area.
Its founder Faras, who uses the nickname Farosty, told Barfi Culture he had been doing parodies on YouTube for nearly a decade. "I recently added Shimmer and Ayee Khan to the team in the last few years. Now it’s about 4 of us that will help put the videos together."
The group do original music, skits as well as parody songs and a series called 'Brown Code' - which features brown people attempting to explain desi culture to non-brown people in an entertaining way.
He said the 'Paki Gang' track was put together in just a few hours.
"There is nothing offensive being said in the video, no vulgar language, no drug abuse, and no sexuality or nudity whatsoever. It is a completely clean and family friendly video where we are just promoting our culture."
Barfi Culture reached out to Facebook's media centre for an explanation but have received no response yet.
RwnlPwnl added: "We've received an overwhelming amount of messages from people saying how proud they are to see representation of Pakistanis in a positive light for once."
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Barfi Culture is a news-magazine on people of South Asian heritage living in Europe and North America. We don't cover South Asia directly.
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