Irish Independent flags 'Omoggle' craze

The Irish Independent published a May 14 opinion column by Catherine Prasifka criticizing “Omoggle,” a website that pits strangers against each other in short video face-offs scored by artificial intelligence. The column appeared in the newspaper’s opinion pages under the headline, “New craze where AI rates people for attractiveness against strangers is a new low for the toxic sludge of the internet.” (omoggle.app) (independent.ie) Omoggle’s own website describes the service as a “live 1v1 face rating game” in which two players connect on camera for 10 seconds while AI analyzes facial features and declares a winner. (independent.ie) The site says the system tracks 468 facial landmarks, assigns scores from 0 to 10 and updates a global ELO ranking after each duel. ### What exactly did the Irish Independent publish? The Irish Independent listed Prasifka’s piece in its opinion section on May 14, and a mobile latest-news page showed the article as published at 21:30 on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The headline framed the trend as “a new low” in online behavior. (independent.ie) Catherine Prasifka is presented by the paper as the author of the comment article, which ran alongside other opinion pieces on the publication’s comment pages. The article was available through the Irish Independent’s opinion index as of May 15. (omoggle.app) ### What is Omoggle saying it does? Omoggle’s website says the product matches two people on camera, runs a face-analysis model locally on each device and then issues a verdict on which player “mogs” the other. The site says no account or download is required to use the browser-based service. (independent.ie) The platform says its scoring system measures symmetry, proportions and facial structure, and that higher-scoring users gain ELO points while lower-scoring users lose rank. Omoggle also says players can climb through named tiers including “Chadlite,” “Chad” and “Slayer.” (independent.ie) ### Where does the name come from? The White Hatter, a Canadian online-safety group, said in a May 2026 post that Omoggle takes inspiration from the now-defunct random chat site Omegle and combines that format with “mogging,” an internet slang term for dominating someone on appearance. The group described the service as part of a broader appearance-focused online culture. (omoggle.app) Prasifka’s headline and the surrounding references to AI-driven attractiveness comparisons align with that description, though the Irish Independent opinion listing available in search results does not reproduce the full text of her argument. (omoggle.app) ### What details on the site are likely to draw scrutiny? Omoggle’s site says more than 3,200 people were playing at the time the page was crawled and describes the format as “fast, addictive, and impossible to fake.” The site also says it is intended for users 18 and older and includes an age-verification prompt on entry. (thewhitehatter.ca) The White Hatter said random video-chat services can expose users to harassment, hate speech, nudity and other harmful material without warning. It also said videos from appearance contests on platforms such as TikTok, X and Twitch were helping spread the trend. (independent.ie) ### What can readers verify now? The Irish Independent opinion page still lists Prasifka’s article under its original headline, and the publication’s latest-news page preserves the May 13-14 timestamping associated with the comment piece. (omoggle.app) Omoggle’s live site remains accessible in a browser and continues to describe 10-second AI-rated face duels, global rankings and 18-plus access. PressReader’s archive page for the Irish Independent also shows back issues are available through its replica and mobile-reading formats, providing a route to the newspaper’s print editions. (thewhitehatter.ca) As of May 15, the opinion article and the Omoggle site were both still online. (pressreader.com) (independent.ie)