JD Wetherspoon closes down all social media accounts
Chain defies ‘conventional wisdom’ by closing Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts for its 900 pubs
High street pub chain JD Wetherspoon has announced that it is shuttering all of its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The social media blackout will affect the company’s head office as well as the more than 900 Wetherspoons pubs in the UK and Ireland.
In a post on its now-deleted Twitter account, the company cited a range of reasons for the decision, including “trolling of MPs and people from religious and ethnic minorities, the abuse of personal data and the addictive nature of the platforms themselves”, says The Independent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It is the last of these that appears to particularly irk JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin.
“It’s becoming increasingly obvious that people spend too much time on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and struggle to control the compulsion,” he said, acknowledging that the company was going against “conventional wisdom”.
Instead, he directed interested customers to the chain’s printed magazine, Wetherspoons News.
In the aftermath of the surprise announcement, “many commentators suspected it was a publicity stunt”, The Guardian reports - but the bargain boozer has good reason to call time on its social media accounts.
Martin’s vocal support for Vote Leave during the EU referendum led to Twitter campaigns calling for a boycott of the chain, while Facebook pages for Wetherspoon’s pubs have proven “a magnet for bad reviews”.
In any case, the online landscape is unlikely to feel particularly bereft by the absence of Wetherspoon’s social media presence, says the Independent.
“While all the accounts were relatively active, it's obvious from a quick look through them that they didn't form a key part of the company's strategy before they shut down”, says the paper.
“The Independent's local Wetherspoons, for instance - The William Morris in Hammersmith - has not sent a tweet since 2017.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The history of Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories
The Explainer How the 2024 Republican nominee has consistently stoked baseless fears of a stolen election
By David Faris Published
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published