Welcome to the Monday edition of Internet Insider, where we dissect the weekend online. Today:
- Chick-fil-A review-bombed after Black worker speaks out in viral video
- Conservatives are saying they ‘identify as vaccinated’ following CDC’s new mask guidance
- A high schooler asked why their Black classmate is ‘not in chains’ in racist Snapchat—a petition is now calling for their expulsion
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BREAK THE INTERNET
Chick-fil-A review-bombed after Black worker speaks out in viral video
A Chick-fil-A location is getting review-bombed after one of its now-former workers seemingly accused its management of racism and of dismissing her concerns after she complained about getting “touched inappropriately” while on the clock.
The worker recounted what happened in a now-viral Twitter video, captioned “i worked at Chick fila and today I quit. here is a summary as to why.”
“He just tried to fire me for calmly vocalizing how I felt,” she tearfully recalls how the operator—a term Chick-fil-A uses to refer to the employees who run its locations—allegedly reacted to her complaint of being inappropriately touched. “I think the problem is … I’m a Black woman, and I vocalize my issues.”
Despite the seriousness of the video, social media users can’t help but find humor in the Google reviews being levied against the location. “I really feel bad for her, and I hope she’s going to get another job, and I hope Chick-fil-A resolves this (issue), but the reviews on the Chick-fil-A,” one user says in a viral TikTok video about the incident before laughing and reading aloud some of the reviews.
Some reviewers are accusing the operator of everything, from “peeing” in their lemonade to putting them in a chokehold and super slamming them “across the entrance.” “I came here to pick up my food and instead was picked up by the ambulance,” part of one review reads.
This is not the only example we saw this weekend of netizens using the online platforms at their disposal to try and hold people accused of such behavior accountable. A high schooler called their Black classmate a racial slur and questioned why he was “not in chains” in a Snapchat post. A petition is now calling for the expulsion of the “racist bully.” Read more on that and catch up on what else you may have missed below.
–Eilish O’Sullivan, newswire editor
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DISCOURSE
Conservatives are saying they ‘identify as vaccinated’ following CDC’s new mask guidance
Right-wing Twitter users are “identifying as vaccinated” in the wake of new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announcing relaxed mask recommendations for vaccinated Americans. As a growing number of businesses begin to allow vaccinated individuals to enter their stores without a face covering—although providing proof of vaccination isn’t necessary—conservatives have begun spreading the anti-vax talking point online.
Mikael Thalen, contributing writer
VIRAL PETITIONS
A high schooler asked why their Black classmate is ‘not in chains’ in racist Snapchat—a petition is now calling for their expulsion
A 16-year-old high school student in Connecticut was arrested and charged with breach of peace and racial harassment after calling a classmate a racial slur on social media, according to various reports. According to ABC 7, the Fairfield Warde High School student took a photo of Jamar Medor, who is Black, and posted it to Snapchat writing: “Why is there a [N-word] in my homeroom? Why is he not in chains?” The student was also suspended for 10 days; however, more than 29,000 people have signed a petition calling for their expulsion.
–Alex Samuels, contributing writer
