Industry
YouTubers Under Fire For Firing Walmart Employees in Prank Video
- YouTubers Lauren Love and her partner Joel Ashley are facing backlash for a recent prank video where Love dressed as a Walmart executive and told employees they were fired.
- The prank brought one employee to tears and she later spoke to a local news outlet saying the incident made her feel “powerless.”
- Walmart has also released a statement calling the prank “offensive.”
The “Prank”
A YouTube couple is facing backlash for a video posted last month were one of the vloggers dresses up as a Walmart executive and pretends to fire store employees. YouTuber Lauren Love and her partner Joel Ashley have a channel with 1.3 million subscribers called “Joel and Lauren TV” where they post videos with titles like; “CAUGHT CHEATING PRANK ON GIRLFRIEND” and “SURPRISING MY BOYFRIEND WITH FAKE GUCCI PRANK.”
In a video posted last month called “CEO Firing People Prank,” Love goes into a Walmart in Richmond, Texas dressed in business attire. “So, I’m going to be going up to Walmart employees and basically observing them and then I’m going to be, like, ‘You’re fired. Let me see your badge,’” Love explains.
At one point Love fires an employee for being “in the wrong area.” He then takes off his vest and goes to hand it to her before she starts laughing and says “its just a prank.”
In another moment, Love fires a woman who responds by telling her she has been working for the store for six years. “I’ve been doing my job very well. I’ve been regarded as employee of the month,” the woman says as she fights back tears.
“I’m sorry, don’t cry. You’re okay. I’m sorry. You’re not fired. You’re doing a really good job,” Love says.
Some employees laugh off the prank once Love reveals that it is part of a YouTube video, but others, like the woman who cried, were far more impacted.
Responses
The woman who was brought to tears in the video was later identified as Maria Leones. Leones spoke to local news about the prank saying that it was especially not funny because her husband is recovering from triple bypass surgery and he uses her insurance.
“Really, I was really so crushed, I felt so little, I felt so powerless,” Leones told Click 2 Houston. Love told ABC 13 that she “felt so bad” and offered Leones fifty dollars, but Leones said that she has never received any money, nor does she want any.
A Walmart spokesperson has since commented on the situation calling the prank “offensive.” The company also said it was banning Love and her cameraperson from their stores.
“We’ve taken actions on behalf of our associates, including asking YouTube to remove the video and calling their attention to the bullying nature of this hoax,” the spokesperson said. “Our associates work hard every day to serve our customers. They do a fantastic job, deserve better than being subjected to such disrespect, and will continue to have our full support.”
Viewers have been spamming Love’s Instagram posts with comments about the firing prank and calling on brands to end their relationships with her. Neither Love or her partner have commented on the situation, but the video has been removed. Love has also disabled comments on some of her recent Instagram posts.
See what others are saying: (CBS News) (Fox News) (ABC 13)
Industry
Beauty YouTubers Call Black Lives Matter and “I Can’t Breathe” Makeup Looks “Disrespectful”
Industry
Facebook Employees Hold Virtual Walkout Over Zuckerberg’s Stance on Trump Posts
Source: Mark Lennihan/AP/Shutterstock
- Twitter put a warning message over a Tweet from President Donald Trump Thursday which it said “glorifies violence.”
- In that tweet, Trump criticized the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, warning that“when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
- The move escalated tensions between Trump and Twitter. Last week the feud prompted Trump to issue an executive order aimed at restricting social media platforms’ ability to police their own content.
- Employees at Facebook, which did not issue any sort of warning for the exact same post, are furious at CEO Mark Zuckerberg for allowing that post to remain.
Facebook Employees Angry
Twitter angered President Donald Trump last week after issuing warnings on several of his tweets, and now, Facebook employees are now targeting their CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, for not doing the same.
Twitter’s issued a fact-check warning on Trump’s May 26 tweets, which falsely claimed that increased access to mail-in voting will lead to extensive voter fraud.
Then, Thursday night, the company followed up by hiding a different tweet from the president that it said “glorifies violence.”
Notably, these are the first instances where Twitter has corrected or censored Trump, something many have called on them to do for years.
Facebook, however, has stuck to its policy to not censor the president’s speech, even if it could be interpreted as violence.
“I’ve been struggling with how to respond to the President’s tweets and posts all day,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Friday. “Personally, I have a visceral negative reaction to this kind of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric.”
“But I’m responsible for reacting not just in my personal capacity but as the leader of an institution committed to free expression,” he added.
“I disagree strongly with how the President spoke about this, but I believe people should be able to see this for themselves, because ultimately accountability for those in positions of power can only happen when their speech is scrutinized out in the open.”
Zuckerberg’s post was yet another defense of his long-held stance regarding the platform’s responsibility to censor violent speech and misinformation from politicians.
Still, Zuckerberg’s unwavering stance has resulted in a number of Facebook employees publicly disagreeing with their boss.
“Inaction is not the answer,” employee Diego Mendes said on Sunday. “Facebook leadership is wrong.”
Other employees continued to take to Twitter to express their opposition to Zuckerberg’s philosophy, one saying, “I work at Facebook and I am not proud of how we’re showing up. The majority of coworkers I’ve spoken to feel the same way. We are making our voice heard.”
Monday, dozens of Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout in further protest of Zuckerberg’s “inaction.” Many also took to Twitter with #TakeAction.
During the virtual protest, The New York Times reported that two senior employees threatened to resign if Zuckerberg does not change course on Facebook’s policy.
“We recognize the pain many of our people are feeling right now, especially our Black community,” a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC in a statement Monday. “We encourage employees to speak openly when they disagree with leadership. As we face additional difficult decisions around content ahead, we’ll continue seeking their honest feedback.”
Zuckerberg will meet with his staff Tuesday to discuss disputes over those posts, moving his weekly meeting up from Thursday in response to the walkout.
Twitter Flags Trump Tweet
Trump’s tweet Thursday was critical of the protests that became violence following the death of George Floyd.
In the first of two tweets, Trump says he can’t stand by and watch the situation in Minneapolis. He goes on to jab Mayor Jacob Frey for being a “weak radical left mayor.”
But that tweet was never flagged. It was actually Trump’s second tweet that Twitter targeted because, in it, Trump said, “…when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence,” Twitter wrote above the tweet, which is hidden and must be clicked into while on the site. “However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
While Twitter did not delete the tweet, it has disabled all likes and replies on the post. Currently, the only way to directly share the tweet is to retweet it with a comment.
Early Friday morning, Twitter followed up with another statement, where it explained that the tweet violated “policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.”
As many online have also noted, the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” carries with it a deeply dividing history.
It’s first known use was in 1967 by Miami police chief Walter Headley to describe his department’s plans to crack down on protests in black neighborhoods. According to historians, that phrase was even considered to have contributed to the city’s race riots in the late 1960s.
White House Quotes Censored Trump Tweet
In opposition to Twitter’s decision, Friday morning, the White House Twitter account quoted Trump’s censored tweet. That tweet then got hit with the same warning.
The White House later posted another tweet defending the president, saying he didn’t glorify violence.
“He clearly condemned it,” the account said. “@Jack [Dorsey] and Twitter’s biased, bad-faith “fact-checkers” have made it clear: Twitter is a publisher, not a platform.”
In addition to the White House, Trump continued his battle against Twitter Friday morning in a series of tweets that accused the site of having an anti-conservative bias.
“Looting leads to shooting, and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night – or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot,” Trump also said in defense of his original comment. “I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means.”
“It was spoken as a fact, not as a statement. It’s very simple, nobody should have any problem with this other than the haters, and those looking to cause trouble on social media. Honor the memory of George Floyd!”
Trump’s Executive Order
Prior to posting this original comment on Thursday, Trump signed an executive order aiming to restrict social media platforms’ ability to police their own content.
Following this, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey promised to continue issuing fact-checks and even warnings against Trump if he’s found in violation of Twitter’s policies.
On Friday, prompted by journalists, Google released a statement saying that undermining the statute that affords platforms their freedoms to moderate their content would “hurt America’s economy and its global leadership on internet freedom.”
Still, both Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Representative Matt Gaetz have promised to introduce legislation that would roll back this statue. For his part, Trump has been very receptive of that idea.
However, there have been a number of reports that any restriction could face major hurdles with the Federal Communications Commission as well as in court over whether such a move would impinge on speech freedoms.
See what others are saying: (Reuters) (Forbes) (CNBC)
Industry
YouTuber Myka Stauffer Slammed for Placing Autistic 4-Year-Old With New Adoptive Family
- YouTuber Myka Stauffer and her husband James, who adopted an autistic boy from China in 2017, announced that they have decided to permanently place the toddler with a new adoptive family.
- In their announcement video, the couple said medical professionals and the adoption agency felt it was best to find a better fit for the boy after several evaluations.
- However, many people are outraged by the decision, accusing the family of exploiting the child and his story for sponsorships and monetized videos, then giving up on him because of his special needs.
The Stauffer’s Announcement
A YouTube couple has been flooded with criticism since announcing that they have permanently placed their autistic 4-year-old in another home, after adopting him from china years ago.
Myka Stauffer runs a YouTube channel with over 700,000 subscribers where she posts videos about home organization, her experience as a mother, and more. She also posts vlogs on a separate family channel that has over 300,000 subscribers.
For years Myka and her husband James have shared intimate details about their lives as parents, from pregnancies to births and beyond. One of the most emotional experiences they’ve shared has been their international adoption journey. But the couple shocked fans Tuesday when they confirmed that their 4-year-old son Huxley had been placed with a new adoptive family.
The Stauffer’s adopted Huxley from China in October 2017, and the video of him being brought home is actually the most viewed video on Myka’s channel, with over 5.5 million views.
But in their tearful video update, James said that Huxley has been in numerous therapy treatments over the last few years to help with his severe special needs. Myka has previously said he has reactive attachment disorder and level 3 autism, though the adoption agency initially told her he had brain damage and a brain tumor.
According to James, over the last year specifically, Huxley’s therapy sessions have been more intense.
“After multiple assessments, after multiple evaluations, multiple medical professionals had felt that he needed a different fit and that his medical needs…he needed more,” Myka explained.
Fans have been asking about Huxley for months, as he hasn’t appeared on any of their social media posts. Some have even made Instagram accounts dedicated to finding answers about his whereabouts.
So as far as why they have waited to announce the news, James said, “It’s because we’ve been trying to protect his privacy, his rights, and also just try to not mess up his future that was laid out in front of us. We’re trying to just make sure we don’t impact that at all when making this video.”
Myka also explained that she tried to share as little as she could about Huxley’s situation because of this. “Anything that happened in the home that was hard for Hux, that’s not fair for me to put there publicly. That’s his privacy. So we’re not going to talk about that. It’s not appropriate and it’ll never be appropriate. I didn’t adopt a little boy to share these things publicly.”
She also said that they’ve waited to talk about this because medical professionals have been allowing Huxley to spend time with different people to help him find his “new forever family.” Based on the updates they’ve received, it appears that Huxley is now in a home that the adoption agency feels is the best fit, with a parent who has medical professional training.
Still, the couple said they’re grieving and tried to help him as much as possible because they never wanted to be in this position. “Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like 500 percent,” Myka said.
“So when I get like insidious, hurtful comments, it just really makes it hurt worse. It’s not about me at all, but it’s just like this journey, the last couple months, has been like the hardest thing I could’ve ever imagine going to – choosing to do.”
The couple closed by asking their followers to respect their privacy and understand that they are hurting, even if they are seen on social media in positive spirits.
Backlash
So after this news was announced, many people took to the comments section and social media sites to expressed sadness for Huxley. However, plenty of people also slammed the couple for their decision.
“I’m sorry but you did fail as a mum. You wouldn’t have given up your own child,” one commenter wrote.
“Autistic children aren’t puppies. They don’t have ‘forever families.’ They don’t get ‘rehomed.’ They get abandoned,” another Twitter user said.
On top of that, there are a ton of people who feel that the couple exploited Huxley for their channel, pointing to the fact that they monetized adoption videos and took sponsorships for them.
Now, some are calling for the family to take all videos of Huxley down, while others are sharing a change.org petition asking YouTube to remove monetization from those videos.
According to Myka’s channel, she has shared 27 videos about their adoption journey, which included updates and Q&A about the process. The vlog channel currently has no content on it, though it’s unclear if videos were recently changed to private following all of the outrage.
To understand what people are now questioning the family’s ethics for, some are pointing to a sponsored video where proceeds were supposed to be “going towards bringing our SON home from China!”
In other videos, Myka promoted a fundraiser for helping Huxley’s needs. And in a 2017 video, she said every person who donated $5 would unlock a different piece of a 1,000-piece puzzle, which would, at the end, be a photo of Huxley that she would reveal to the world. She also said she would write the names of all donors in his baby book.
Others have slammed Myka because she was viewed as an adoption advocate who wrote for parenting blogs and magazines.
Meanwhile, others noted she regularly posted things suggesting she wouldn’t trade Huxley for anything.
Unconfirmed Response
There is a screenshot of a pinned YouTube comment that was allegedly written by Myka circulating online, however, that comment is not currently pinned under her video so it cannot be confirmed as real.
But it says that the family, “would never just give up a child with special needs, this is a personal matter to Hux it had nothing to do with he just had Autism.”
“Multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children, if these events happened with one of my biological kids, after all the help and after the behaviors we witnessed sadly we would have no other choice then to seek help and get their needs met.”
The comment claims that Huxley “wanted this decision 100%,” adding, “We sat that in family time with other people, he constantly choose them and signed and showed tons of emotion to show us and let us know he wanted this.”
As of now, there have been no further statements about the announcement, and the adoption videos still appear on Myka’s YouTube channel. Myka has not returned Rogue Rocket’s request for a comment on the issue.
See what others are saying: (People) (EOnline) (BBC)
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