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Digiorno’s #WhyIStayed #WhyILeft Social Media Disaster
Twitter and Facebook alike are trending with the hashtags #WhyIStayed & #WhyILeft. The trend is in response to Ray Rice domestic abuse tape being released this week and the response of his now wife, Janay Rice on social media. Janay, the victim of the video, expressed the following statement on her Instagram account this morning:
“I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I’m mourning the death of my closest friend,” Janay Rice wrote. “But to have to accept the fact that it’s reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that [the] media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass [off] for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific.
“THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don’t you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!”
After her post the world of social media began weighing in on the victimization on domestic violence through the trending hashtags #WhyILeft & #WhyIStayed. Both male and female participants shared their stories of survival with the social media universe. These personal stories have given everyone a glimpse into the mind of not only the abused, but the mind of abusers also.
Here are some of the responses:
Social media trends like #WhyIStayed & #WhyILeft hold a lot of power if they are used correctly. Unfortunately for someone at Digiorno Pizza it can also be a super fast way to anger your fanbase if used incorrectly. As pictured below, someone from Digiorno made the mistake of tweeting out an extremely inappropriate response to the #WhyIStayed #WhyILeft hashtag trend. The tweet stated: “#WhyIStayed You had pizza.”.
Twitter users were less than thrilled with the company for trying to promote a product by hijacking a personally touching subject. Some users even went so far as to try to oust the individual responsible while others commented on the harsh backlash that the Digiorno social media team was facing.
The Internet can be a very unforgiving place. Anyone working in social media can empathize with the social media team over at Digiorno today. By trying to save a few minutes on researching a hashtag, because of 140 characters or less, a person could be looking for new employment by tomorrow. Whomever is responsible has been working overtime to try to make things right. Everyone that has tweeted about the mistake has received a personalized apology from the companies Twitter page. Hopefully for this management team, a little groveling can go a long way. You can guarantee that this person will never post about a hashtag again without a lot of research.
Social Media Outcry Causes NFL To Change Policies | Ray Rice Domestic Violence
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admits that he got Ray Rice’s two-game suspension wrong. (Rob Foldy/USA TODAY Sports)
The NFL is in the social media spotlight again but not for the reasons they would like to be. Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, previously had received a two week suspension for a domestic violence incident involving his then fiancee, Janay Palmer. Rice was arrested on assault charges following a February 15th altercation in New Jersey in which he had allegedly struck Palmer so hard that he had knocked her unconscious in an elevator.
After his menial punishment was handed down from the NFL people took to social media to relay their dismay and anger over the two week suspension. Many compared the incident with that of another player for the Browns, Josh Gordon, that was suspended for an entire year for smoking marijuana.
While the NFL did not extend Rice’s suspension all of the negative feedback has made them reconsider their policies on domestic violence. Weeks after the incident Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL, revealed a new domestic violence policy.
Six games for a first offense. A lifetime ban for the second.
Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens running back and his wife, Janay, during an NFL football news conference Friday, May 23, 2014 (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (Patrick Semansky)
This week, months after the abuse, the tape of the altercation between Rice & Palmer was released on TMZ’s Sports website. In the video, as seen below, Rice and Palmer can be seen having a small argument outside in the hall. They step into the elevator and Rice swings at Palmer. She races towards him and he punches her before she falls into the floor, knocked out cold. He can then be seen trying to drag her limp body out of the elevator. Security shows up a few moments later as she lies face down on the floor. He tries to revive her over and over again. She barely moves.
The release of this horrific tape brought this issued statement from the NFL, which claims they had not seen the video previously:
“We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator. That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today,” the NFL said in its statement.
Goodell says that now that he has viewed the new evidence in the Ray Rice case he admitted that he “didn’t get it right” with Rice and that he has decided to triple his original suspension adding five more games on top of the game that he missed Sunday in the opening NFL season weekend.
“In business and in life, we look to get better as we moved forward,” Amy Trask, the former Oakland Raiders CEO, told USA TODAY Sports. “Just because it wasn’t in place before, isn’t it great that it is now? People should step back and say we have a chance to do it better. That’s what Roger has done.”
Although Rice has avoided any type of incarceration for the abuse, the Ray Rice case just goes to show how important social media has become in giving the everyday person a voice. If complaints from fans can change an organization that is as big as the National Football League we can only imagine how much effect social media can have on smaller, more intimate corporations.
**UPDATE**
The Baltimore Ravens have just announced that they have cut Ray Rice from their NFL team after the release of the video of him knocking out his now wife. Rice has also been suspended from the National Football League, indefinitely. The fans have spoken their distaste for the player all over social media and the NFL is listening.
Social Esteem Media 