Concern Date: 01/12/2021
Re: CEO on Content material Coverage Concern ‘Camp Auschwitz’ and Rebrand
Good day,
Right now, I assumed I’d be speaking a few very totally different matter. As right now (1/12) was the day we have been meant to be publicly asserting our rebrand.
Sadly, occasions of the previous 96 hours+ have modified the course for our enterprise and I needed to take the time to obviously clarify what’s occurred, why and what we’re going to do about it. I consider when conditions like this happen transparency, accuracy and honesty are key.
What occurred? Legacy Teespring has had content material coverage violations up to now with troublesome content material being created and featured on our website and shared socially. Over the previous 4 years, now we have invested in constructing floor up know-how and handbook processes to police our consumer generated platform.
On the issues that occurred put up 1/6, I requested our coverage workforce to analyze and create a full incident report which incorporates information, occasions, data that has been used for the idea of this assertion.
On common, now we have 40,000+ listings created each day on our platform, with sometimes 8.7% being robotically and manually flagged for content material coverage points/considerations. Our content material coverage workforce has been within the highest state of alert all through 2020 and into 2021 in what has grow to be and an almost insurmountable activity of decoding and navigating the social local weather.
The deplorable occasions that unfolded on the Capitol on 1/6, sadly, have been an accelerant for plenty of unhealthy characters who made the choice to copy the designs of merchandise worn on the occasions at 1/6.
On the seventh January, a person got here to our platform and created a ‘Camp Auschwitz’ design. We efficiently flagged the design inside 6 hours of being listed and completely banned the consumer. We educated our pc picture system and used our AI Key phrase Scanning software program to detect these designs. We additionally elevated staffing ranges from January seventh throughout the weekend, operating hourly handbook sweeps and searches and to responding to reported listings.
Between January seventh and eleventh, a complete of 26 particular person customers** tried to make use of the platform to create ‘Camp Auschwitz’ shops and/or designs (and different hate speech designs). All have been blocked, banned and disabled from the platform.
What didn’t work? On January eleventh @ 3am ET a person created the identical design however gamed our methods by getting into in undetectable product titles & descriptions and masked imagery that resulted within the itemizing going up reside on our platform for a complete of 5 hours. As we acquired stories through social media, we eliminated the listings and completely banned the consumer.
Not one of the listings had any gross sales. Due to this fact, no merchandise went into the manufacturing cycle.
**Given the intense nature of the content material. We’re open to sharing customers’ particulars with regulation enforcement ought to this be requested.
The outcome: Screenshots of listings have been shared on social media and understandably went viral.
The content material is really abhorrent and given the state of the world proper now, understandably has triggered numerous upset and mistrust of our platform.
We’ve got acquired many questions from most of the people asking why we permit such content material on our platform and in addition had inbound media requests who’ve lined the story. Additionally, it’s value noting there have been some wider confusion in understanding that we’re a user-generated platform (content material created by others) and have mistakenly thought now we have designed or printed these merchandise. We’ve got corrected that in our assertion and solutions.
Moreover, now we have had different members of most of the people additionally share content material (previous and current) to show that they consider the issue is extra systemic. While the vast majority of this content material is outdated – there are nonetheless points to repair. Like some other UGC platform, we is not going to ever be 100% on policing content material however we are able to make enhancements.
What have we accomplished about it? (to date) On the first signal of social media complaints that started Friday and spiked Sunday night, we eliminated all associated content material. We issued a public-facing assertion throughout social media on 1/11 at 10am EST. We’ve got additionally tried to answer as many questions from people as attainable.
As well as, we’ve made a $10,000 donation to Auschwitz‑Birkenau Memorial and State Museum. I will even be pulling collectively a bunch internally and in our group to generate concepts of how we are able to make a deeper longer-term dedication to this trigger.
What else are we doing? Making an announcement is one factor, driving motion is one other. I’ve assembled a bunch within the enterprise who’re working with me instantly on taking quick actions throughout product (particularly fixing know-how gaps), coverage, communications and different areas of the enterprise to forestall this behaviour. We’ve got made quick adjustments and these will proceed for the following 12/24 hours.
Our coverage and social groups have labored for twenty-four hours a day for five days straight on the problem and can proceed to take action within the pursuit of protecting our group and most of the people updated with the state of affairs.
Our collective goal right here is to rebuild belief inside our group with a view to put us in a spot to rebrand and elevate our platform to beliefs that now we have set down as Spring. This may take time, dedication and full buy-in throughout our group.
What concerning the rebrand? We have been on the precipice of a brand new chapter however sadly have been dragged backwards right into a second in time that has been difficult for therefore many causes. Our shift to grow to be Spring is a transfer to have a good time actual creators. A message that spreads love, pleasure and fandom – not hate. We is not going to let this difficulty deter us from doing that.
Given the subject material at hand and in addition the heightened sensitivity on this planet proper now. I’m making the choice to (briefly) delay our public rebrand to grow to be Spring. As an alternative, I would like our workforce to make use of this time to suppose consciously about how we rebuild belief with our creator group and in addition as a part of a progressive society that believes within the new attainable.
We is not going to let hate rule our platform. We have to work onerous on that, however you might have my promise.
Spring is coming.
At a private degree, the occasions over the previous 4 days have been a number of the most difficult of my skilled profession. I deeply apologise for the upset triggered and decide to taking progressive motion alongside the fantastic group of dedicated individuals who now we have in our enterprise.
Kindest Regards,
Chris Lamontagne
CEO
