Lowe's deletes 'hateful' comments from Facebook page

When Lowe's wanted to explain its decision to pull advertising from a television show about Muslim Americans last week, it did what companies do in the new social media world: It posted a message on Facebook.

Soon after the message appeared over the weekend, the comments started. They came by the thousands, many of them angry, from Facebook users who wanted to protest the decision, show support for Lowe's, or argue with each other about Islam.

On Wednesday afternoon, after more than 28,000 messages were posted, Lowe's deleted the comment thread. In its place, the retailer apologized if the comments gave offense, and said it will monitor its Facebook wall more carefully.

Lowe's challenge illustrates the reality many retailers face in today's social media echo chamber, as they try to harness the power of sites like Facebook and Twitter while avoiding the inherent dangers of letting people broadcast their opinions to millions on the company's page.

The Mooresville-based retailer first stepped into the controversy over the weekend, when word got out that Lowe's had pulled its ads from the TLC show "All-American Muslim."

The show, a reality program that follows Muslim families in Dearborn, Mich., was criticized by the Florida Family Association. The group, whose goal is "improving America's moral environment," said the show amounts to propaganda that covers up the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism.

Lowe's decided to pull its ads from the show on Dec. 5, after being contacted by the Florida group. In its initial Facebook posting, Lowe's reiterated its stance toward the ads, but also issued a qualified apology: "It appears that we managed to step into a hotly contested debate with strong views from virtually every angle...We are sincerely sorry. We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion."

Soon, that Facebook message was swamped by thousands of comments, many of which expressed overtly anti-Muslim sentiments. Others heavily criticized Lowe's and its decision, while others praised the company and pledged to shop there.

And that was how the page sat, with the number of comments growing, until Lowe's deleted the thread shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

"For several days, our Facebook page has become a forum of debate surrounding a TLC program - and to let us know how you feel. Many of the comments are specifically about Lowe's advertising decision...many more are about broader political and social issues," Lowe's wrote. "However, we have seen a large volume of comments become more pointed and hateful."

Lowe's, which operates about 1,725 stores and had nearly $50 billion in sales last fiscal year, said it would monitor comments more carefully in the future.

The company also is facing criticism from other quarters, such as a petition from 30,000 people sponsored by liberal group MoveOn.org that asks the company to reinstate its ads.

Jeff Elder, former social media manager for Lowe's, said he feels sympathy for his old colleagues. "I feel for them," said Elder, who is now marketing manager for San Francisco-based Storify. "I do not envy them."

But Elder, also a former Observer columnist, questioned the company's silence. "I don't think you can avoid that dialogue, and then delete it, without some questions about the integrity of that voice," Elder told the Observer. On his blog, Elder wrote: "I wouldn't play it safe, clam up, and let hate rule the day...I would seek to be a voice of reason."

Jason Keath, CEO of social media training company Social Fresh, said Lowe's may have made the right choice by saying nothing online for as long as it did. "They also run the risk, if they reply, that they might make it worse," Keath said.

"If you're trying to build a community (online), you have to take some of the bad with the good," he said. Keath's company recently held a convention for businesses using social media in Charlotte, and he said Lowe's attended.

He said the most important thing a company can do is establish clear guidelines for what will and won't be tolerated in comments, and then enforce prohibitions against hate speech, profanity and other specific categories while allowing debate. Keath called Lowe's wholesale deletion of comments "unfortunate," but acknowledged it could be nearly impossible for a company to moderate more than 28,000 comments.

Social media has amplified the criticism companies face, Elder said.

"There are so many people who have an opportunity to be critical and sometimes hateful. In the past you might have dealt with letter writers or phone calls," Elder said. Now, Facebook comments, tweets, and comments on other sites offer a running - and highly public - tally of public anger.

A company spokeswoman could not be reached to talk about Lowe's social media practices.

By early evening Wednesday, Lowe's second apology message had already attracted more than 2,000 comments.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/12/14/2850786/lowes-deletes-hateful-comments.html

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