Opinion: Don’t get tricked by Twitter’s “politics”
PHOTO: A college student with the username of “@BillyBobSanderz” posted a tweet claiming the list of companies supported Trump’s reelection, which quickly went viral.
By Saebean Yi,
BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–
Major fast food and restaurant corporations play a critical role in supporting and funding political parties and organizations.
While corporations attempt to shy from publically involving politics in a restaurant environment, controversy is inevitable, especially with the prominence of social media apps like Twitter.
Boycotting controversies is an act protected under the First Amendment of the United States, as it states that the people have the right to “peacefully assemble and to petition.”
People should definitely exercise their rights as U.S. citizens. However, a right that holds immense power comes with great responsibility, and protesters should definitely do their research before boycotting restaurants. This means that they should look deeper than a simple Twitter post.
Recent popular boycotts have been attributed to support of President Donald Trump and the Republican party, specifically the possibility of his reelection in 2020. Figures such as multibillionaire Stephen Ross and numerous fast food companies were the target.
In August, a viral tweet by “@BillyBobSanderz,” which amassed 549,000 likes, listed a plethora of fast food corporations that supported Trump’s reelection.
This tweet garnered the support of many anti-Trump citizens, who were shocked to believe that their favorite fast food chains were supporting conflicting views.
However, people need to do more research. For example, one of the chains on that list, Chick-Fil-A, is falsely accused. The tweeter states that these are the “list of companies supporting Trump’s elections,” but according to the Federal Election Commission, 100 percent of their political spending is non-PAC (political action committee), or in other words, directly from the employees and people working at Chick-Fil-A.
While Chick-Fil-A definitely has a Republican majority, with over 87 percent of the funds going to Republican candidates in 2016, this doesn’t necessarily mean the company itself supports Trump’s reelection.
Boycotters should definitely search for credible data before foregoing a restaurant rather than skimping and resorting to social media. Misinformation is prevalent, especially in social media, and learning which information on the internet is trustworthy is a great skill to have.
