Clorox recently learned a hard lesson when it comes to Twitter and what some people deem racially offensive tweets. Last week, while many people were still singing the praises of Apple's launch of diverse emojis, Clorox decided to join in on the fun.
Clorox's account tweeted out a photo full of emojis with the caption, "New emojis are alright but where's the bleach." Many people felt that the company was insinuating that the new emojis, which feature black and brown faces, needed to be bleached.
https://twitter.com/d_zart08/status/587024020576477185https://twitter.com/_EdgarFriendly_/status/587045687180660736
After people complained about the tweet, the company issued an "apology" of sorts.
https://twitter.com/Clorox/status/585959735293149185
Interestingly enough, its original tweet was subsequently deleted.
Of course, depending on whom you ask, some may not even think of the tweet as being racist, and they may even say that people are being oversensitive. But the real issue isn't about the tweet's racism but about the fact that the lack of diversity in corporate America has reared its head on social media, again.
https://twitter.com/Critical_Keith/status/586954012110540800
It seems as if it's becoming a recurring theme for companies to make these "lack of judgment" calls when utilizing social media. One has to wonder if anyone behind the decision-making process is a person who looks similar to one of those new emojis.
Companies need to pull in the reins when it comes to their social media activities, or at least instill a vetting process that includes possibly asking their employees of color one simple question: "Does this sound racist?" Just imagine how many apologies wouldn't have to be tweeted.