BuzzFeed accused of ‘ridiculing’ Welsh language in quiz which pokes fun at North Wales place names

Online media firm BuzzFeed has been accused of “ridiculing” the Welsh language after publishing a quiz which pokes fun at the name of several places in North Wales.

The quiz invites users to guess whether a name is a real place in Wales or was created by the author by “randomly mashing” their keyboard.

It includes the names of Rhosllanerchrugog and Bwlchgwyn in Wrexham and Llanfairpwll on Anglesey as well as the made-up “Posdjklddkfjdsnf”.

The knowledge test has provoked a backlash on social media with BBC News broadcaster Huw Edwards accusing the platform of promoting contempt for minority cultures in a post on Twitter.

It has also been condemned by North Wales regional MS Llyr Gruffydd, who branded it as “pathetic”.

He said: “Buzzfeed.com has a long and unfortunate track record of ridiculing the Welsh language.

“The latest click bait effort asks whether Welsh place names such as Bwlchgwyn and Rhosllannerchrugog are ‘fake’.

“I’m sure residents of both villages, with such unique and descriptive names, would raise an eyebrow at being told they live in ‘fake’ villages.”

Referring to the announcement this week that BuzzFeed would be withdrawing its UK news operation, the Plaid Cymru politician added: “It’s little wonder Buzzfeed has come to an end in the U.K. when it’s reduced to these kinds of pathetic articles. It won’t be missed.”

Following the criticism, the article titled “Can You Guess Which Villages Are Real Places In Wales And Which Ones Are Fake?” was later edited.

It resulted in references to “mashing the keyboard” and “random letters” being removed, although the quiz itself was left up.

In a note at the bottom of the post, Buzzfeed said it had been amended to reflect the company’s editorial standards.

The US-based firm has also been asked to respond to the comments made by Mr Gruffydd.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter