[ad_1]
As a union vote of Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Ala., Wrapped up over the weekend, several Twitter accounts appearing to belong to the company’s warehouse workers posted cheerful messages about satisfaction at the company. work at Amazon.
“Unions are valuable tools for companies that don’t offer good wages and benefits like Amazon. We just don’t need it here, ”the @AmazonFCDarla account posted Sunday, according to multiple media. In another tweet, the account read “a lot of people here who want unions are … let’s just say not LOL team players.” The account was less than a month old and his profile picture was computer generated, tech news site Gizmodo noted.
Another account with an AI-generated photo, @AmazonFCLulu, posted a tweet of mocking stories of Amazon employees being forced to relieve themselves in bottles because they don’t have enough time to use the bathroom during their breaks, Vice reported. “I’m starting to worry that there is a problem with UTIs across the country, given how often many of you need a bathroom break?” the account tweeted, per Vice.
Both accounts are now suspended.
“A small number of accounts have been permanently suspended for breaking Twitter’s rules against imitationA Twitter spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch. The spokesperson confirmed a Washington Post report that at least four accounts have been suspended.
Amazon told CBS MoneyWatch it found “many” accounts posing as employees.
“Many of them are not Amazon FC ambassadors – it appears to be fake accounts that violate Twitter terms. We have asked Twitter to investigate and take appropriate action,” the said. Amazon spokeswoman Maria Boschetti in a statement.
Tweet great things on Amazon
FC Ambassadors are warehouse workers who tweet great things about the company. The program first came to light in 2018, when Twitter users noted that dozens of similar-looking accounts were posting endlessly positive reviews of working at the e-commerce giant. All accounts had usernames in the format @AmazonFC (First Name) and mentioned specific fulfillment centers in their bio.
Amazon confirmed at the time that the accounts were managed by “employees who work in our CF [fulfillment centers] and share facts based on their personal experience. A former ambassador said he received a $ 50 gift card and a paid day off to tweet, while others have said they “don’t get paid more for tweeting.”
On Wednesday, the Intercept released internal Amazon documents that describe the formation of the ambassador program, named “Veritas.” Workers in the program were required to have good attendance, “good humor” and “creative writing” skills, according to the documents, and were trained to respond to negative tweets about worker pay, wealth from founder Jeff Bezos or workers urinating in bottles.
After word of the program spread, many parody and imitator stories emerged. “Lol blinking is for when we’re on our many breaks that we get,” tweeted one of those accounts, @AmazonFCBecky. The account has since been suspended.
Amazon is in a controversial battle with pro-union workers at its massive Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, which has been open for less than a year. Monday, 5,800 warehouse workers completed vote on whether to unionize with the Union of Wholesale Retailers and Department Stores. The ballots are currently being counted.
Last week mocking Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as ineffective lawmakers. These tweets from an official Amazon account, @amazonnews, and senior executive Dave Clark, are still relevant today.
Amazon did not provide a list of sanctioned “ambassador” accounts and did not respond to a question from CBS MoneyWatch about what differentiates fake accounts from employees paid to tweet.
Parody and Twitter fan accounts are allowed as long as they disclose their status, Twitter noted. The company added that the Amazon Ambassadors program per se does not violate Twitter policies.
[ad_2]
Source link