Woolworths Partnered Up With News Corp, And People Are Calling For A Boycott

Woolworths has let down the fresh food people after announcing on Linkedin that they are partnering with NewsCorp. And the people are making it known that they’re pissed, with #BoycottWoolworths trending.

The ‘Thanks a Million’ partnership was announced on Wednesday morning, and sets to recognise people who have gone “the extra mile” in 2020. And lord knows, a whole bunch of people from nurses, to firefighters, to grocery store workers and cleaners, deserve an so many extra thanks.

Ironically, News Corp’s coverage of major events like the bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic actually made it harder for these very people to do their jobs, but sure, nothing to see here etc.

Haha @woolworths partnering with @newscorp in campaign to thank people for stepping up during bushfires, lolllllll. How out of touch are you folks??

Who needs the onion when you have this 🤣#NewsCorpse #boycottwoolworths

— Dipanjali (@dipanjali) November 5, 2020

The partnership also comes right as the umbrella of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in Australia has been furthering US election misinformation. On Wednesday night, Sky News Australia falsely claimed Joe Biden had claimed victory.

@TwitterSafety this tweet seems to be promoting misinformation.

— Laura Murphy-Oates (@lauramoates) November 4, 2020

Andrew Bolt, also on Sky News, invited viewers to celebrate Donald Trump’s election win (he has not won).

There is a possibility (not a certainty I hasten to add) this may not age well either. pic.twitter.com/yBhvE6qsdm

— Paul Syvret (@PSyvret) November 4, 2020

News Corp columnist Rita Panahi repeated Trump’s false claims of “underhanded tactics” employed by the Democrats to win votes in swing states. The tactics in question are the counting of all votes, which is in fact, not illegal, and very much the true democratic process of a democratic election.

It’s insane, yet utterly predictable, that Trump’s accusations of illegitimacy are being picked up and published verbatim in News Corp papers. This is the Herald Sun, one of the Australia’s most read papers. pic.twitter.com/xI7vd7qhTO

— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) November 4, 2020

Closer to home, the Murdoch press has also been responsible for irresponsible coverage of the COVID-19 crisis. First ethnic minorities were falsely blamed for the second wave of the virus in Melbourne, and then public health orders to wear masks and stay at home were undermined. In the latest of this saga, a 52 minute documentary featuring Peta Credlin was aired, full of false claims about the (very successful) Victorian response to the second wave.

It does not seem like Woolworths will be going back on their decision. In response to a customer who expressed their concern, the grocery chain did not offer an apology. Instead they wrote “this campaign will enable us to reach communities right across Australia to celebrate their contributions”.

Hi. Thanks for sharing your feedback. After the challenging year Australia has faced, we're saying thanks to everyone who has made a difference. This campaign will enable us to reach communities right across Australia to celebrate their contributions and express our gratitude.

— Woolworths (@woolworths) November 4, 2020

In former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s petition to parliament calling for a Royal Commission into Murdoch-owned media, Rudd expresses concern that “media ownership is becoming more concentrated alongside new business models that encourage deliberately polarising and politically manipulated news”. The petition is now closed and has over 500,000 signatures, which people were quick to point out to Woolworths.

#boycottwoolworths Seriously, @woolworths read the room! Half a million Australians signed an anti-Murdoch petition in recognition of his disservice to democracy – and you do this!!! https://t.co/EdFtoNqu2J

— 💧 Dr Rhonda Garad (@elyasgarad) November 4, 2020

The petition was so popular it crashed the parliamentary website, and is currently the biggest e-petition to parliament.