Just like Whole Foods, GoDaddy had to defend itself against an incident that never happened.
Whole Foods found itself on the defensive this week after a gay pastor claimed a company employee wrote a gay epithet on the cake he ordered in Austin.
He claimed to have ordered a cake that said “Love Wins”, but that’s not what he said he received:
LOVE WINS FAG. That’s not the cake I ordered, @WholeFoods and I am offended for myself & the entire #LGBT community pic.twitter.com/cuxuv6mL3G
— Jordan D Brown (@PasJordanBrown) April 18, 2016
This immediately set off my B.S. meter. Of all places, a Whole Foods store in Austin would write this? This is the last place I’d expect this to happen. Other parts of the claim didn’t add up, either.
As it turns out, the cake incident was almost certainly faked. There’s video evidence.
This incident reminded me of one involving GoDaddy last year. A job applicant claimed he was discriminated against because he’s an overweight Christian.
Like the Whole Foods case, it just didn’t add up.
It doesn’t matter that both of these incidents likely didn’t happen, though. The immediate backlash against the companies, where people blindly retweet or condemn the accused company without thinking first, is harmful.
Headlines like “Go Daddy Fires Shot In War Against Christianity” are still out there. It doesn’t matter that they aren’t true.
There’s not much companies can do to recover from initial bad will. Whole Foods is suing, but a lot of people saw the initial news, believed it, and will never realize it was faked.
I don’t know what the answer is for companies . But I wish people would think before retweeting or assuming something they see on Facebook is real.
Yeah, that will be the day.
James Douglas says
I was really hoping you were going to tell a story about someone trying to register LoveWins.com…
John Berryhill says
And if love doesn’t win, call a lawyer instead.
Joseph Peterson says
Love didn’t conquer? Very well …
Lawsuits do. Call Berryhill!
“Omnia vincit ????” – What’s the Latin for “litigation”?
MoveOn says
With the hordes of SJW let loose, expect more of the same.
The damage done to the intellect of the Millenials world-wide is profound, and irretrievable.
For now, George Soros and his sheeple rule.
Sad.