Did Chick-fil-A's PR use fake Facebook account?
A Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta. / AP Photo/Mike Stewart
(MoneyWatch) It must be tough working in media relations these days. If there's any doubt, just ask Chick-fil-A's public relations department, reeling from what just might be the most embarrassing social media fiasco of 2012.
There was a time when PR pros could control their company's message simply by sticking to talking points and carefully scripted statements. It all went one way, from the corporate communication office to the consumer via billboards, TV commercials, magazines, and newspapers.
But these days, largely thanks to Facebook and Twitter, communication in the corporate world goes in three directions: Company-to-consumer, consumer-to-company, and consumer-to-consumer. It's that last axis of communication that seems to have bitten Chick-fil-A in the thigh.
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It all started two weeks ago when CEO Dan Cathy was quoted as saying, "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit." His later clarification that "... as an organization we can operate on biblical principles" only amplified charges by gay advocacy organizations that the company opposed same-sex marriage.
The blowback started on July 20, when Muppets creator Jim Henson's company announced that it was severing its partnership with Chick-fil-A by no longer proving toys for kids' meals served at the restaurant.
If you were a PR person at Chick-fil-A, what would you do next? (If you said something along the lines of "try to spin this bad news by focusing on the quality of the food, or perhaps by finding a new toy partner," then you have more social media savvy than Chick-fil-A.) What the company did was to announce that it was "voluntarily recalling" all Jim Henson toys -- and backdated the announcement to July 19, the day before Henson's own.
But it doesn't end there. On July 25, tech blog Gizmodo broke the news that Chick-fil-A appeared to have "astroturfed" their Facebook page by creating a fake account and posted supportive comments attributed to a teenage girl to try to counter the bad press.
There's no question that someone did create a fake account and post in defense of Chick-fil-A. The account photo has even been traced to a stock photo service. That said, Chick-fil-A has denied creating the account. But credibility certainly isn't on the company's side after the fake toy recall announcement.
So what we have here is one staggeringly bad decision after another, preserved indefinitely on the Internet. Is this sort of thing enough to capsize an entire fast-food chain? Probably not. But the fallout isn't pretty, and it isn't going to get better anytime soon. (In a shocking and sad epilogue, Chick-fil-A's VP of public relations passed away unexpectedly on Friday.)
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That also means that my comment that first grabbed your attention -- that the recall was NOT backdated -- is also true.
Now it appears that you have granted that my evidence proves exactly what I said it proves -- that the recall was not backdated.
Therefore, I assume, we both agree that the article should be updated to indicate that the notice of the recall happened at least 24 hours before Henson Co posted its decision.
Without that timeline, though, the rest of the narrative becomes more suspect. Chick-fil-A announced, on its corporate Facebook page, that they did not know of the Henson decision until the 20th. If, as you seem to believe, Henson actually called them on the 19th (before the toy recall), why hasn't Henson fired back? Wouldn't Chick-fil-A be guilty of libel? Also, if Chick-fil-A broke the existing contract under false pretenses by initiating a recall within hours of hearing Jim Henson Co's decision, why hasn't Jim Henson Co threatened to sue for breach of contract?
I suppose it's possible to come up with a scenario in which the recall both happened on the 19th AND was a response to Jim Henson Co's decision... but actually believing that scenario takes a formidable amount of self-determination.
It is not possible to come up with a scenario in which, as claimed in this article, the recall was backdated.
The marraiges (I think) you are referring to in the Bible are not held up as example of good marraiges, you ask if the Bible has been read by the writer? Like any book - you have to read the whole thing...ESPECIALLY if you are Christian...there is a new testament and an old testament. The NEW one is the Christian Part. It refers to and is miraculously predicted by the old (amazing stuff!) but is ...amended by the old. As a homosexual Jon, you are LOVED by Christ. Deeply loved!! And thank God so am I. Because I am just as wretched a sinner in need of a savious as every other human tehered to this earth. I'm not gay, but I am a sinner, just like you. The Bible is God's tool to help us, communicate to us what he wants us to do with our lives, in an effort to serve Him as our Holy creator. It's not a rule book to bash homosexuals over the head with i the name of religion. God and Jesus never said - "Go be religious!!" Quite the opposite. They both said GO LOVE! It is according to Jesus...in the NEW testament...the greatest commandment.
The fact is that the liberal media and you are trying everything possible to enlarge and sensationalize this story about Chick-fil-A's founder and gay marriage. He is absolutely entitled to his opinion every bit as much as you.
For reference sake , how long would the human race last if the gay lifestyle became predominant? Without breaking the bonds of your "relationships" you could never have children. Do you think that either God or evolution was constructed to not perpetuate existence?
As for the founder of Chick-fil-a, yes, he has his right to his opinion and I have the right to not give him my money and to expose him for the hippocrate he is.
You want to talk about picking and choosing? Ha! Go to any Sunday service and you'll find some pickin and a choosin! Wasn't it Jesus who said those who pray in public are "hippocrates"?
Evidence.
1. The picture that went viral, dated the 19th
2. Chick-fil-A's claim on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ChickfilA/posts/10151246770245101
3. A post (still up) dated the 19th at https://www.facebook.com/cfaramsey/timeline discussing the recall
4. This Google cache of post (since removed) by the Columbiana Centre franchise showing that at 4AM EDT their notification of the recall had been up for 11 hours. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:iET6sMr6mXIJ:www.facebook.com/permalink.php%3Fid%3D153903381328592%26story_fbid%3D419255398126721+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
5. The fact that Henson hasn't announced that it will sue Chick-fil-A over the recall.
6. Common sense. A retaliatory recall just isn't a normal business practice.
Given that they didn't backdate the recall, why would Chick-fil-A impersonate a teenage girl? A teenage girl who said the recall had been going on "for weeks" before the Henson decision, rather than one day before the Henson decision?
Second, your link in #3 is to a missing girl page. Not chik-fil-a.
Third, why would the owners of the Muppets sue when they were the ones who severed ties? If chik-fil-a had broken the contract, they might sue then. Your logic makes no sense.
And finally, just because something is not "normal business practice" is not evidence that it did not or has not happened.
My link in #3 is for Chick-fil-A Ramsey Street in Fayetteville, NC.
There are two issues with Jim Henson Co. 1- Why aren't there any Jim Henson toys at any CFA this week. 2- Why aren't there going to be any Jim Henson toys at any CFA next year? The answer to #1 is a recall that happened on the 19th. The answer to #2 is Jim Henson Co's decision on the 20th. Jim Henson did not break a contract on July 20th - they just said there would be no new contracts (read their statement again).
No, but when something happens that is not a normal business practice you need evidence that it actually happened... not just that you can't find evidence that it didn't happen.
I note that you didn't comment on #4. #4 is really the only evidence we need. At 4 AM on July 20th, Chick-fil-A had already given notice of the recall to the franchises, one of which posted so on Facebook, where it was captured by Google.
As for such things as eating pork, we are no longer under Mosaic law. Jesus Christ fulfilled that law for us when he gave his life your sin, my sin, and everyone's sin. We are now under grace, not law. Don't mistake grace for a free ticket to sin either.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being Christian doesn't mean that you're supposed to be perfect, that's impossible. As a Christian, I know when I sin, and it's not a pleasant feeling.
So, since Jesus fulfilled the law, that makes homosexuality ok. Right? It's under the same law as the pork and shellfish. So what's the issue then. Jesus said absolutely nothing about homosexuality. So let the gay marriages begin! Arguement over!
Just because a facebook profile is new does not make it fake. Just because somebody does not use their own picture does not make it fake. Unless you have proof, you should not be making accusations.
A good news writer gets their facts straight.