Chick-fil-A forced to deny using fake Facebook profiles to defend company in anti-gay marriage row
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Chick-fil-A was forced to deny using fake Facebook profiles to defend itself against angry posters -- the latest in a series of PR nightmares endured by the fast food chain after its president came out against gay marriage last week.
In a Facebook exchange circulated by several websites, a user named 'Abby Farle' stands up for Chick-fil-A until it is revealed that her account was created eight hours prior and her profile picture used a stock image of a generic teenage girl.
The row comes after the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, sent a letter informing Chick-fil-A executives that their plans to open a restaurant in Boston were not welcome.
Caught: The user 'Abby Farle' is accused of being a fake account created by a Chick-fil-A public relations flak
As the accusations about fake Facebook accounts run by the Chick-fil-A public relations team began to circulate on Wednesday, the company was forced to post a denial on its official Facebook account.
'Hey Fans, thanks for being supportive. There is a lot of misinformation out there. The latest is we have been accused of impersonating a teenager with a fake Facebook profile. We want you to know we would never do anything like that and this claim is 100% false. Please share with this with your friends,' the Atlanta, Georgia-based company wrote.
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ShareWithin two hours, the post had been 'liked' by nearly 30,000 Facebook users and shared by more than 4,000.
The row was over a Facebook post condemning Chick-fil-A for claiming it had recalled kids' meal toys made by the Jim Henson Company because children had gotten their fingers stuck inside them.
The Jim Henson Company, creator of Sesame Street and the Muppets, had previously announced that it was canceling its partnership with Chick-fil-A over the gay marriage stance and pulling its toys from the chain's restaurants.
Standing up: Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A, caused an uproar when he said he and the company opposed gay marriage
When a Facebook user posted on Chick-fil-A's page and criticized the company for 'lying' about the recall, Facebook user Abby Fale rose to the company's defense.
'it was taken back weeks before any of this... check your info,' she writes.
Later she says, 'my friend went to chickfila 3 weeks ago and there was no toys. derr.'
Another user chimes in: 'Abby joined Facebook 8 hours ago. Nice try Chick-fil-a PR guy.'
Then, he posts the stock image, taken by a professional photographer, that was used for Abby Farle's profile picture.
Denial: Chick-fil-A says claims that it has used fake Facebook profiles are '100 percent false.'
BuzzFeed claims it found a second profile, Cordell Bunton, that could be a fake, as well. Mr Bunton's only post was on Chick-fil-A's wall. It that reads: 'STAND YOUR GROUND ON THIS DECISION I STAND BESIDE YOU ALL THE WAY, CONTINUE GOD'S WORK.'
Chick-fil-A also won a detractor in Tom Menino, the longtime Democratic mayor of Boston. In a letter to the company's president Dan Cathy, Mayor Menino pointed out that Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage.
'There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and there is no place for your company alongside it,' he wrote of Chick-fil-A's plans to open a restaurant in the city.
The company made an enemy of Menino, but it found a friend in former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.
'With two of my boys, Enjoying chick-in-strips and an awesome peach shake at Chick-fil-A. See you here next Wednesday! ' he tweeted, referencing a proposed rally for the company on August 1.
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