Pulitzer Prize Winner Too Controversial For Apple

Mark Fiore was the first Web-based cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for his “biting wit, extensive research and ability to distill complex issues.” However, Apple rejected Fiore’s iPhone application because he made fun of public figures.

In a recent interview with the Nieman Journalism Lab, Fiore said that in December Apple rejected his idea for a application called NewsToons because it broke section 3.3.14 of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement. This section states:

“Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple’s reasonable judgment may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.”

Apple is known for not allowing applications in the iTunes App Store based on what they think is “objectionable content”. They have previously rejected suggestive applications after getting complaints from customers, including an app from the band Nine Inch Nails and one for South Park.

The video above shows some unexpected guests dropping by the White House when President Obama gave his Afghanistan troop deployment talk. You decide if it’s offensive or not; it figured into Apple’s decision to reject the application.

Source: PCWorld