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Wetherspoons says it will not enforce poppy ban after thousands fall for Twitter hoax
Wetherspoons has said it will not enforce a ban on wearing the Remembrance Day poppy, after a fake Twitter account tricked thousands into believing it had.
We do support the Poppy Appeal in all of our pubs. Please ignore spoof sites.
– Wetherspoon Official pic.twitter.com/pvmApxvCIN
— J D Wetherspoon (@jdwtweet) October 26, 2017
The parody account, which has plagued the pub chain on social media for years, was inundated with complaints after posting a tweet declaring that Wetherspoons will ask its staff not to wear the poppy this year “due to the ever expanding multiculturalism of our clientele and employees.”
Due to the ever expanding multiculturalism of our clientele and employees this year our staff will not be wearing the poppy while working.
— WETHERSP00N_UK (@Wetherspoon_UK) October 23, 2017
Onlookers slammed the tweet as unpatriotic before anyone had time to check its authenticity.
“Very wrong as many countries served in the forces in both wars,” said one account.
“This is a sad day and last time I drink in one of your pubs,” added another.
wetherspoons are a disgrace and will not get another penny of me.banning staff from wearing poppies due to multiculturalism.
— gazolahammersfan (@Garythomaswick2) October 26, 2017
Wetherspoons responded to the hoaxers, calling the prank “distasteful and insensitive.”
“JD Wetherspoon is in no way connected to this Twitter account,” it said, “and neither shares nor condones its posts.”
“In our opinion, although the unofficial spoof account is stated to be a parody account, tweets like this are simply not funny.”
The pub chain’s social media team spent most of the day replying to concerned followers, reassuring them that staff will be honouring Remembrance Day as normal.
As a wetherspoon employee,myself and my colleagues will be wearing ours with pride,as we always do.Troll sites will never discredit our name
— Angie Sands (@XBlackXWidowX) October 26, 2017
Wetherspoons staff, meanwhile, also chimed in to confirm that they will be supporting the Poppy Appeal by wearing the symbol at their own branches.
This isn’t the first time Wetherspoons’ reputation has suffered at the fingertips of the parody account’s owners.
Last year, a woman entered into a blazing row with @Wethersp00n_UK after mistakenly tweeting the fake account to complain about her food, according to the Sun.
According to Twitter’s terms and conditions, the site permits parody accounts as long as they comply with certain conditions. The parody account’s Twitter handle should not be too similar to its inspiration, and the biography “should indicate that the user is not affiliated with the account subject by stating a word such as ‘parody,’ ‘fake,’ ‘fan,’ or ‘commentary,’ and be done so in a way that would be understood by the intended audience.”