Not even insurance ads are safe from the wrath of racist trolls who have made Twitter their own personal toxic playground since Donald Trump’s improbable rise. A tweet posted on Wednesday by insurance giant State Farm that featured an interracial couple experiencing a moment of joy sparked outrage by the depiction of a white woman agreeing to marry a black man.
“@StateFarm Switching to Geico. You will never get another dollar from me. Miserable bastards,” one user wrote. “@StateFarm what the hell are you doing? This is disgusting and nobody wants to see this,” added another.
In fact, some customers were so outraged by the harmless ad, that they threatened to take their business elsewhere, something their competitor, Geico, jumped on. Seemingly anyone who threatened to leave State Farm was then approached on Twitter by someone claiming to be from the “GEICO Services Team,” a tactic that itself backfired. “u guys trying to cash in on a white supremacists thread? You're trash for that,” one user wrote.
Though Geico did not respond to Quartz’s request for comment, the insurance company did post an apology to Twitter. “Today we replied to a tweet offering a quote without seeing the image & its context,” the tweet read. “We apologize for the error & do not share their views.”
Despite igniting the fury of Trump’s America, some users came to State Farm’s defense, and thanked the company for its portrayal of an interracial couple. “Hey @StateFarm, my interracial family thanks you for being willing to showcase diverse love!” One user wrote.
State Farm has yet to issue a response.
