With great power — in any workplace, institution, or community — comes great responsibility. Many of us think of our professional responsibility in concrete and easy-to-track terms, such as goals or outcomes. But just as important, and frequently overlooked, is the responsibility to protect and defend people, especially those who have been historically marginalized and are still fighting against existential discrimination, when our institutions cause harm.
Being a minority in a large company sometimes feels like being on an island. No matter the workplace, you'll find that challenges are often similar: navigating predominantly white or privileged surroundings, seeing your own identity misrepresented or neglected, and being expected to be well-versed in white culture while others aren't always expected to know anything about your culture.
Media and tech companies, like BuzzFeed, carry an especially hefty burden. They influence culture, amplify voices, and help shape trends. When that influence is misused, the harm can reverberate loudly.
Which is why when a mistake happens, especially one that affects a historically disenfranchised community, the onus is on the media to correct that misstep. How does a mass media company do that, though? What about the employees who were affected? How do you stay true to your personal values at a much larger corporation, and how do you broach the topic of the mistake with the people you believe can help right the wrong at your workplace?
Recently, in a lapse of judgment, BuzzFeed published an Instagram carousel where a knuckle sandwich was served to Love Island contestant Michelle "Chelley" Bissainthe. The post went viral. And although it was promptly taken down, the damage was done.
Baby, This is Keke Palmer / Via Twitter: @lorraine_adelle
This mistake deeply hurt members of the Black community, both internally and in our audience. But instead of ignoring the issue or sweeping it under the rug, we want to use it as a case study of what any workplace or community must face when it falls short and show what it looks like to try, sincerely, to do better.
We hope this post will serve as a guiding force for other corporations and their employees when they find themselves reeling from a mistake that affects communities that are often marginalized.
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1.When something like this happens, take time to listen to your audience and employees about how it impacted them.
At BuzzFeed, we have employee resource groups, or ERGs for short. They're groups made as a safe space anyone can join, and the main purpose is to uplift and create community within the workplace for different underrepresented groups. We (the authors of this article, Karlton and Myke) are the leads for BIO: Black Identities and Opportunities. As leads, we have several different responsibilities, such as putting together events, fostering community, and addressing the small and large issues we feel impact our community. In this leadership role, we spoke privately, publicly, and candidly with the Black employees at BuzzFeed after the Love Island post went viral.
Here are some of their words:
"As a Black woman at the company, I was mostly disappointed and confused. It made me think about all the experiences that I have to go through on the daily basis. Darker skin is automatically seen as aggressive. No matter what you do, what you say or how you say it. I wanted to make sure I spoke out, because we don't play about Black women. We don't play about Chelly!"
—BuzzFeed employee
"Unfortunately, I was made aware of the situation when a few of my friends DM'd the post to me. They voiced their discomfort and asked if I knew anything about it. I think I felt both shock and embarrassment because this situation was 100% avoidable."
—BuzzFeed employee
"I wasn't offended because I no longer allow institutions to offend me, but that doesn't mean I don't read ignorance for what it is. This error was so ridiculous, I thought it must be one of our AI-powered posts. But as usual, we can't blame everything on the robots. The fact that this slipped by simply indicates that folks are still privileged enough to maybe not have a clue. Also, if no one else will say it: I don't believe this was an accident. I believe it was intended to be funny. It's not. It's corny to say the least."
—BuzzFeed Managing Editor
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"When I joined the BuzzFeed team, I felt relief. Here was a culture that gave me the space to just be. I finally felt safe at work, and I relaxed. Imagine my surprise when BuzzFeed, my safe haven, published a joke about punching a woman. I understand there's a knuckle sandwich trend on TikTok, but like... that isn't even how we utilized the joke, and was it even a joke as a trend? It seems so small, doesn't it, a knuckle sandwich joke. But there is a HISTORY of being threatened with violence. ALL WOMEN know violence. The joke is bigger than just the joke. It plays right into a culture that we have actively fought against. My trust in my company has faltered, and my safe haven now has a crack. I don't want us to forget this happened. I don't want it to be swept under the rug. That's not who we are at BuzzFeed. I want more apologies. I want groveling. If this is truly a mistake, and we are truly sorry (us employees are!), then we need to do more as a company to convey that to our fans and everyone who trusted and looked up to us as a source of truth and joy. It's not enough to try to do better in the future. We need to be better right now."
—BuzzFeed employee
"I’ve always thought of Buzzfeed as a place that vocally promotes diversity and equity. To see the exact opposite happen is disheartening and disappointing. We need to take accountability as a company for our mistakes and use our media platform to protect and support Black women in and outside the media: the workplace included."
— BuzzFeed Employee
"Being part of a diverse company like BuzzFeed is something I’ve always taken pride in. The 'come-as-you-are' culture we promote is truly special. That’s why the conduct I witnessed in relation to this post was so disappointing and jarring. To my understanding, BuzzFeed has always stood for inclusivity—embracing people from all backgrounds without bias. Unfortunately, that principle did not seem to extend to our African American colleagues in this instance, particularly the women. I understand that mistakes happen. But what’s most disheartening is how this one has been handled — or rather, not handled. An issue like this should’ve been acknowledged and addressed quickly and transparently, with accountability for all to see. It leads me to ask: Do you truly care that we’re here? Or are we just part of the diversity ratio?"
—BuzzFeed employee
"The post was hurtful and in completely poor taste. As a Black woman, I’m tired of being the butt of the joke, and I found this instance to be particularly hurtful given it came from inside an organization that I give my time, hard work, and energy to, every day. The work we do now to ensure there’s accountability and adequate steps to move forward is what’s most important and more telling of how we’ll do better in the future."
— BuzzFeed Employee
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"I thought the post was completely unwarranted, and it's genuinely disturbing how it went unchecked. Violence against Black women isn't taken seriously, and violence against women, period, is never something to joke about. The lack of sensitivity is a reflection of the implicit biases people have against Black women, seeing us as both perpetrators and deserving victims of violence. This makes the Black women at this company feel unsafe and that our concerns are an afterthought."
— BuzzFeed Employee
2.Take responsibility and make genuine apologies.
It’s hard to get a corporate apology right —apologies are best when they come from a human person who can show empathy. But when a mistake happens at a structural or group level, it’s impossible to put a single face to that sentiment. BuzzFeed hasn’t always gotten it right, especially when we leaned too heavily on corporate speak that didn’t align with the voice of our brands. The key is to know that the audience and employees can feel the hollowness of a corporate apology when it’s not done well.
On the flip side, we must also learn to accept genuine apologies. It's okay if you're not in a place to hear the apology at the moment, nobody is telling you to shut off your emotions like a robot. Feel your anger. Embrace your disappointment or disgust. But when you're ready, be willing to accept a honest apology and step into the healing process with the energy of forgiveness. However, this is completely dependent on whether or not the apology was in fact genuine.
3.Double down on internal checks and balances.
At BuzzFeed, we already have several checks and balances in place. For example, we have Culture Lead Editors, who work as a guiding light for the communities they represent. They encourage, write, and edit a wide range of culturally diverse posts. We have customized tools built into our content management system, or CMS, that flag questionable, insensitive, or confusing language. We have both copy and package editors: teams who work to make sure the titles, pictures, and text within posts fit our standards and values.
These are teams that would be helpful (and in our opinion, necessary) at all mass media companies. It is important for us to double down on these checks and balances throughout our entire corporation. For those who work outside of the media, it's important to strengthen or create checks and balances that work to protect historically marginalized communities.
4.Call out microaggressions and racism as they happen.
5.Never back down.
Malcolm X said it best: "We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary," and if they don't exist yet, I say, create them.
Sometimes it is easier to get the ball rolling than to maintain the momentum. Many outside factors can serve as roadblocks, challenges, and discouragement when trying to hold yourself and others accountable, especially when dealing with injustices, inequality, or lack of equity.
You might feel compelled to throw in the towel, whether it's government policies, company culture, fear of retaliation, or lack of resources. Don't. Keep it moving. As isolating as it might feel at times, you don't have to go at it alone. Our persistence when it came to the Love Island post led to conversations with more Black employees, eventually the company at large, and ultimately our top execs, which led toward seeking solutions.
6.Work on covering Black people in a positive light.
It's not solely the job of the Black employees to be the voice of all Black people. We're not monolithic. No identity is truly monolithic. In our situation, it could be possible that a lack of representation and education led to this mistake and the missteps that followed. This is why it's crucial to ensure you're mindful of the attention you give to that underrepresented group.
If your Black employees are the only ones writing stories and creating videos centered around Black interests, entertainment, and culture, you have a problem. If the only content you're producing that includes Black people is centered around violence, criminality, and negativity, you have a problem. It's no secret that the media has struggled with the portrayal of Black people in a positive light, intentional or not, and there's no reason you should be part of the problem.And it's a poor excuse to blame it on your audience's interests and pop culture trends. If you're a media company, you lead the conversation in most instances, so take the reins and set the tone. If I can learn all the Taylor Swift lore in one day, you can take a few minutes to know the difference between Laurence Fishburne and Samuel L. Jackson.
7.Each one, teach one. Pointing fingers solves little to nothing.
We've all made mistakes. I think sometimes we're more willing to jump down each other's throats than to actually speak with one another. Instead speak with those responsible for the mistake. Listen to their reasoning (even if you don't agree with the reasoning at all). Gauge their level of sincerity. Educate them on how to do better.
Or, if you're in a position where you feel like you're tired of educating, point them in the right direction. It can be exhausting being the person who always needs to educate others. However, I'm sure there is someone in your community who has accepted the role of educator. Simply point the offender in the right direction. What resources can they use? Who can they talk to? What books should they read? Which podcasts should they listen to? It's just too easy to tear each other down these days.
8.Never think you can do no wrong.
You know how the Hannah Montana song starts. "Everybody makes mistakes / Everybody has those days." It's true. Nobody's perfect, and that's not something to be seen as a curse.
Oftentimes, it's individuals who believe they're not capable of being anti-Black, sexist, anti-LBGTQ+, etc., who have a harder time pinpointing when and where they screwed up. Today there's so much fear of being labeled a (insert word +ist) that we find ourselves making the situation worse with denial, gaslighting, or projecting our shame onto others.
We firmly believe everyone can learn from their mistakes; you just have to be willing to take accountability. The world's not over if you make a mistake, so own up to your crap and be okay sitting in it for a minute until you can work toward a solution.
Accountability can look like more than just a boilerplate apology or mandatory sensitivity training. Acknowledging wrongdoing and knowing there's an opportunity for improvement is where it's at.
9.Create inclusive and safe spaces.
What are you doing to create inclusive and safe spaces? What do they look like, and are they easily accessible to everyone? It shouldn't take a deep investigation to find someone working toward being inclusive to you as an employee. Dare I say the entire company should be working toward making the whole space inclusive — bigoted government policies and threats be damned.
We have the ERGs at BuzzFeed, which cover groups like women, LGBTQ+, Latine, Parents, Black, AAPI, and more. It's encouraged that everyone participate in the activities and offerings that the ERGs produce because they allow you to either collaborate and bond with people who look like you, or get a chance to connect with people with entirely different experiences than your own. However, inclusive and safe spaces aren't always a diversity initiative. I found safe spaces by connecting with people who might've had a similar work trajectory or lived in a similar area.
DMs and email threads are your friends when connecting with the right people to help foster communities. Most companies have remained remote or hybrid since 2020, and I think it's more important than ever to double down on creating spaces to ensure underrepresented groups feel heard and valued, especially in a world that's getting more creative at working to silence them.
10.Work with your allies regularly.
Look around you, you are not alone. There are allies willing to speak up. BuzzFeed held a company-wide meeting after our Love Island post went viral for all the wrong reasons, and some of the loudest and most potent voices in the room were people who were not Black. People who were very aware of the plight, and stuck their necks out to protect and defend another community.
Work with these allies as much as possible. You may be in an environment at your company where someone else's voice may be the final key to unlock the solution. Seek out these allies. Meet up with or communicate with them outside of work. Build a multicultural coalition that cannot be denied.
11.And last but not least, protect women.
I don't think this needs any explanation. Protect women. Period.
Our responsibility is to protect people, especially those who have been historically marginalized. The fight against existential discrimination is going to take more than 11 points on a BuzzFeed listicle. Calling out the issue and taking accountability is a move in the right direction and hopefully, this can be something we can call back to when we need to correct the next mistake, address new employee concerns, and ultimately stay true to our values in the workplace.
Through these steps and our work we are aiming every day to promote Black joy, to protect Black women, and to help steer a much larger and whiter organization in a direction that's inclusive for us and all others.
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