Monday, November 16, 2015

Brands, social media platforms join in expressing solidarity with France

Many have become accustomed to get their information from social media channels during crises, but it’s also a place to turn in the wake of a tragedy.

On Monday, French President François Hollande gathered with government officials and French citizens for a nationwide moment of silence after terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night killed at least 129 people.

The moment was broadcast across Twitter, Facebook and news organizations’ websites, but it was far from the only online memorial.

Brands respond in solidarity

Several organizations also observed moments of silence honoring the victims of the Paris attacks. The Manchester United soccer franchise and National Football League teams were among the many sharing those solemn moments on social media:

Moment of silence for all those affected by the tragedies in Paris. #PrayForParis

Posted by New York Rangers on Sunday, November 15, 2015

Though brand accounts, by and large, stayed silent immediately after the attacks, many organizations, political candidates, celebrities and other public figures took to social media platforms to voice solidarity with France:

My prayers are with the victims and hostages in the horrible Paris attacks. May God be with you all.

Posted by Donald J. Trump on Friday, November 13, 2015

In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday, I feel that posting a recipe today is unimportant….

Posted by Sara Gore on Sunday, November 15, 2015

Kenneth Cole, whose clothing company has offended consumers by using trending hashtags in the wake of tragedies for promotional purposes , offered this tweet:

On Saturday, Airbnb sent a series of tweets after it canceled a forum scheduled in Paris meant to connect its hosts and employees. Instead, the company’s social media team directed people to available housing and official accounts for emergency information:

Clothing brand Pray For Paris didn’t mention its unfortunate moniker, but instead announced it would halt sales in the wake of the attacks. It then announced it would donate 20 percent of its profits to France’s Red Cross:

Social media platforms offer resources, memorials

Many social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, changed their logos to include the French flag’s colors.

Facebook also offered a feature that enables users to superimpose France’s colors over their profile pictures:

YouTube gathered news and updates after the attacks and made them readily available from its front page with the message, “We stand with Paris.” Snapchat featured memorials and signs of solidarity under the story, #PrayforParis.

Google offered free calls to France via Google Hangouts:

Sprint and Verizon jumped in and announced that U.S. customers could call French numbers over the weekend, free of charge. Skype also offered users free calls to French mobile and landline numbers:

Though the memorials and signs of solidarity were positively received, many social media users cried out that the same treatment—including Facebook’s Safety Check—was not available following the bombings in Beirut and other cities. The social network’s co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, offered the following statement in a comment under his profile photo post:



[RELATED: Learn social media best practices at our Disney summit.]

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