Did Yahoo change its post on Chris Pratt after criticism on social media?
History of Gadsden Flag
Since there is so much of buzz about the Gadsden flag, let’s get to know about it first. It is an American flag with a yellow field and a rattlesnake coiled and ready to attack. It reads, “Don’t Tread On Me.” The flag is named after General Christopher Gadsden. It has been used as a motto flag. Now it’s meaning has changed; it is used to depict disagreement with the government or support for civil liberties. Since the 1970s it is associated with libertarianism. In the 2010s it was used by the American Tea Party movement. Therefore, its meaning keeps changing with the context.
Changes made by Yahoo
Yahoo Movies UK has modified their article “Chris Pratt criticized for white supremacist T-shirt” this past Wednesday. In their story, Yahoo reported on the outrage of a handful of anonymous twitter users responding to the design of the shirt. The scrutiny fell over an American Flag embedded with a rattlesnake and the words “Don’t tread on me.” There was a plethora of backlash involved with L.A. Times Columnist Goldberg slammed the article saying “Shame on @Yahoo for this trash. A handful of dumb twitter comments isn’t a news story you click-baiting parasites. There [sic] nothing white supremacist about that T-shirt. It’s like everyone wants to be stupid and make everything worse” Fox News went on to report that the design’s purpose “was meant to symbolize liberty and freedom.” As a result of the backlash, the article has since been updated with the new title “Chris Pratt criticized for T-shirt choice.” Additional references to white supremacism have been taken out. Pratt’s provocative clothing is one that imbues historic culture dating before America’s independence in 1776.