In the span of a few years, emoji—the smiley faces, hearts, flags and other small pictures installed in most smartphone, email and chat programs—have become ubiquitous in digital communication.

June 8 (UPI) -- A Jamaican woman who won a $1.4 million lottery jackpot went viral on social media for using a winking emoji mask to hide her identity. The winner, identified only as N. Gray ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Millennials, rejoice: A winking-face emoji is worth a slew of ironic words. The brain interprets irony or sarcasm conveyed by an emoji in the same way as it does verbal banter ...