The Weather Channel found itself in a Twitter storm Monday when someone at the company used an official Twitter account to react to tweets by Joel Burns, a city council member in Fort Worth, Tex.
Dear @weatherchannel I SWEAR I’m deleting your aggravating app if you don’t STOP SHOWING DALLAS pics for Fort Worth pic.twitter.com/Rx36gZoI2K
— Councilm. Joel Burns (@JoelBurns) May 12, 2014
And so he did.
Hey snoozing @weatherchannel social media team, see anything missing now? CC @YahooWeather @wfaaweathertoo pic.twitter.com/KxsgAwLLnR — Councilm. Joel Burns (@JoelBurns) May 12, 2014
The Weather Channel’s response proved controversial.
@JoelBurns Sorry to see you go. Good luck on ending bullying.
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) May 12, 2014
Then the storm hit, with many tweets supporting Burns and castigating the company for its mean-spirited response. Burns then offered a chance for the channel to redeem itself by asking it to donate $100,000 to the
and
.
Let’s help kids instead of snark? $100k @weatherchannel to @GLSEN @TrevorProject? (Agree?Pls RT) I’ll give $1000 https://t.co/TdQwGJy1pw
— Councilm. Joel Burns (@JoelBurns) May 12, 2014
And a hash tag was born: #THISisFortWorth, with people filling Twitter with photos of Fort Worth scenes, some with people in front of them holding up signs that read “@weather channel #THISisFortWorth.”
Citizens of @cityoffortworth, let’s welcome @weatherchannel with your #thisisFortWorth photos! pic.twitter.com/ZSPiMCnonq
— Councilm. Joel Burns (@JoelBurns) May 12, 2014
Eventually the company posted an apology on Twitter and released a statement.
.@JoelBurns we apologize for our reply this morning. Our response was inappropriate & we’re taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) May 12, 2014
Burns said that the company will make a contribution, though an amount wasn’t specified, according to the
. And it promised to work on getting Fort Worth photographs in its app.
.@JoelBurns says @WeatherChannel donating to @GLSEN , @TrevorProject. #THISisFortWorth. @cityoffortworth http://t.co/5eVW9TYfeS
— FW Business Press (@fwbusinesspress) May 13, 2014
Burns is an advocate for LGBT rights and has spoken out against bullying. He gave a widely acclaimed speech in 2010 at a Fort Worth City Council meeting aimed at gay teens called “It Gets Better.”