Racist Comments Pile Up on Lowe’s Facebook Page
Every once in a while, a TV show comes around that really gets people talking. This season, TLCs “All-American Muslim” was that show. Taking place in Dearborn Michigan, the show follows the daily lives of Muslim families.
While many have revered the show, there has of course been some backlash. Some people were unhappy with the portrayal of the families, others were unhappy with the fact that the show was even on air. One group in particular was so outraged that they took it out on Lowe’s for airing commercials during the show. So they started writing letters. This group wrote Lowe’s so many letters that eventually, Lowe’s backed down and pulled all of their ads.
Now, opponents and supporters of this decision have flocked to the Lowe’s Facebook page to show their respective outrage and support. More than 23,000 comments have been left in reply to the note that Lowes posted, explaining their decision. Many of those comments berated Lowe’s or expressed disappointment for the decision they made and declared they will no longer be shopping at Lowe’s. But a good portion of the comments were also in favor of the decision that they’ve made–expressing blatant racism and saying they will begin shopping at Lowe’s based on this decision.
As you can imagine, the Facebook page has become a mess to moderate.
Between the mix of nasty and supportive comments, I can really only imagine what their Community Moderator is going through. But considering that is where most people are expressing their opinions, I feel it’s time for them to go into crisis management mode. Moderating a situation like this can be difficult and will require them to be on their A-game. It was a disgraceful move for Lowe’s to have made, and now they have to deal with the backlash in a world where consumers have a very public soapbox at their disposal.
What do you guys think is the best way to handle a situation like this?
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