Ilhan Omar Launches New Dating App: Incestry.Com
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 — Rep. Ilhan Omar has announced the launch of a new dating platform, Incestry.com, which she described as an effort to streamline American kinship patterns.
In a statement accompanying the rollout, Omar said the service would help users identify compatible partners who already share certain familial connections. “This is just my contribution to Western culture by ensuring the future of America’s family tree only has one branch,” she said.
The application, according to materials released by her office, uses existing public records and user-submitted family histories to surface matches. It is currently available for download in select markets. Omar’s office declined to specify the criteria used to rank profiles or whether the platform includes any restrictions based on degree of relation.
Officials in Alabama and West Virginia issued a brief joint statement in response. “Hold my beer,” the statement read. Neither state’s attorney general elaborated further. A spokesman for the Alabama Department of Public Health said the agency had not reviewed the application and had no comment on its potential effects on local vital records.
Demographers contacted for reaction noted that rates of close-relative marriage have declined nationally over recent decades, though they remain higher in some rural areas than in others. One researcher who asked not to be named said it was unclear whether a commercial product would reverse that trend. “Most people already have access to the relevant information through ordinary family gatherings,” the researcher said.
Omar’s communications director confirmed that the congresswoman does not plan to use the service herself. The platform’s terms of service include a standard disclaimer that users are responsible for compliance with all applicable state marriage laws. No federal legislation has been introduced in connection with the app.
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