Gap veers from its social media policy in Twitter blunder

The retailer was blasted for mentioning shopping on Gap.com in a tweet that referenced Hurricane Sandy. Earlier this year, we celebrated the company’s social media policy.

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The retailer, which asks its employees to abide by a social media policy, is taking a beating for tweeting this message as Hurricane Sandy barreled toward the U.S. on Monday:

Twitter users blasted Gap, calling the tweet unethical, not cool, tasteless, and so on. Several people suggested Gap and American Apparel—which offered a Hurricane Sandy Sale—donate clothes to flood victims to make amends.

Hours after the offending tweet, Gap issued this explanation:

To all impacted by #Sandy, stay safe. Our check-in and tweet earlier were only meant to remind all to keep safe and indoors.

— Gap (@Gap) October 29, 2012

Earlier this year, Ragan.com held up Gap’s social media policy as a shining example for other brands. You can see excerpts from that policy here, but here are some highlights:

There’s really no such thing as “delete” on the Internet, so please—think before you post.

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