British Army apologizes for ‘blackface’ tweet

For social media marketers, followers’ perception can increase a post’s popularity—or start a virtual firestorm.

The British Army learned that lesson recently. It apologized after deleting a tweet that depicted a soldier in what some claim is blackface.

Online outraged followed the tweet—which contained a photo depicting a smiling, gun-toting solider in camouflage accompanied by the caption, "Being a soldier in the jungle requires a robust sense of humour."

.@BritishArmy just tweeted this photo, what were they thinking?? http://pic.twitter.com/YVB9C7Nq9L

— Jon Scammell (@JonScammell) October 19, 2016

The Army said in a statement to media that the soldier was actually "wearing camouflage and concealment measures, standard for jungle training in Belize."

RELATED: Keep your cool in a crisis with these 13 tips.

The organization issued an apology on its Twitter account and said it “would urge the public to view that imagery to set the activities being undertaken by these soldiers in context”:

http://pic.twitter.com/SDAVNtJhI0

— British Army (@BritishArmy) October 19, 2016

Though the backlash was swift, not everyone saw it as racist:

Dear social justice warriors, this is CAMOUFLAGE not "black face". Real racists are those who see race everywhere: https://t.co/m8lYOv5tvG

— Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) October 19, 2016

Moe politically correct rubbish https://t.co/iELetzmkQo

— David Jones (@DavidJo52951945) October 19, 2016

How do you think the British Army responded to the backlash, PR Daily readers?

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