WEEKLY NEWS 12

H&M apologises following backlash over 'racist' image of child model on website

Yesterday which was Monday 8th January 2018, Many social media users took to all forms of social media, mainly Instagram after noticing something offensive within an advert for H&M for kids clothing.

The image above is from the website showing a young boy modelling an item that is available in the kids department, however what caught the social media users' attention is the caption on the hoodie that the boy is wearing which says, "Coolest Monkey In The Jungle".

'Social media users branded the advert “racist” and “unacceptable”, prompting the high street chain to remove the image from its online collection and replace it with a photo of the jumper.'

Many were offended and spoke about how they felt on social media.

One user, called Alexandra Foucard wrote on twitter,"What universe do you live in that makes it okay to flaunt your racist ways in such an epic portion,"

"I demand you remove this ad. This child is precious and should be treated as such!” 

Another user wrote: “This is racist and insensitive. This beautiful boy doesn’t even know what H&M is making out of him. A whole team shooting and no one saw what’s wrong with this.”

A third said it was “unacceptable”, adding: “H&M is now on my list of places I am never shopping again”. 

On the other hand, some people support H&M and claim that H&M didn't mean to offend anyone although they should've known the result.

As a response to the outrage on social media, H&M have apologised for what they have done.

In my opinion, I think the way in which the clothing was advertised is offensive, in terms of knowing the background of the caption used on the hoodie and matching it to the race of the boy, however I didn't expect it to go viral in a matter of hours.

The story is from the independent which is a British online newspaper.

When the paper was established in the late 1980's, the founders intended its political stance(the position taken on an issue) to reflect the centre of the British political spectrum and thought that it would attract readers primarily from The Times(express a small amount of views from the centre-right of the spectrum but fairly right wing) and The Daily Telegraph (centre right- on the conservative side of the political spectrum).

It has been seen as leaning to the left, making it more a competitor to The Guardian, although both also feature conservative columnists.

The Independent tends to take a Classical Liberal, pro-market stance on economic issues.

In an editorial( a newspaper article expressing the editor's opinion on a topical issue) in 2013, the independent referred to itself as a "proudly liberal newspaper".

This story might've been featured as a newspaper article on the website of the independent newspaper, as it features people's views on the story, which relate to the political background of the newspaper.

So, those who disagree with the advertisement seem to have more left-wing views and those who support the H&M (in terms of the company not wanting to offend anyone) have more a mixture of left-wing and slightly right wing views.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/handm-apologises-following-backlash-over-racist-image-of-child-model-on-website/ar-BBI4Z1p?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartandhp