Overshadowed by Controversy: Difference between revisions

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== [[Real Life]] ==
* A particular style of shoe sold by C. & J. Clark, one of the largest shoe manufacturing firms in the UK, became this<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40916607 Clarksbecame in sexism row over Dolly Babe girls' shoe - BBC Newsthis]</ref> when an angry mother made a rant not just about how easily worn out the "Dolly Babe" Mary Jane school shoes were, but the [[Political Correctness Gone Mad|shoes' name itself]] being "sexist" and "promoting gender stereotypes" with its [[All Women Love Shoes|overly feminine design]]–a lavender heart-print insole and a heart-shaped charm on the toebox. Not helping matters was that the "Dolly Babes" were compared unfavourably to the football-themed "Leader" shoes for boys, also made by the same company. [[Serious Business]] ensued, and as a result Clarks issued an apology, stating that it wasn't their intention to offend, and withdrew the shoes in question from sale; they did briefly re-release<ref>[https://www.charlesclinkard.co.uk/girls-c23/school-shoes-c71/cla-dolly-babe-jnr-p23607 Clarksthey Movellodid Lobriefly Junior Girls School Shoes]</ref>re-release the style] [[Same Face, Different Name|under the name]] "Movello Lo"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180818015227/http://www.mumzworld.com/en/clarks-movello-lo Clarks - Movello Lo]</ref>" presumably to clear out existing inventory, though. They would later commit to designing and selling "gender-neutral" school shoes, which presumably also had a side-effect of being more acceptable in certain schools where dress codes are stringently observed. It's not that Clarks hasn't come up with anything appealing to girls in recent years{{when}} though, like the "Etch Bright" shoes for girls with its sparkly purple insole and star accents,<ref>[https://www.clarks.co.uk/c/Etch-Bright-Kid/p/26151125 the "Etch Bright" Kidshoes Blackfor Patent]</ref>girls orwith theits "Seasparkly Shimmer"purple Maryinsole Janesand withstar aaccents], prominentor mermaidthe theme,<ref>[https://www.clarks.co.uk/c/Sea-Shimmer-Kid/p/26155543 "Sea Shimmer" KidMary BlackJanes Patentwith a prominent mermaid theme]</ref>, but by then people may have forgotten about the sexism row with the shoemaker and moved on to the next scapegoat.
** British supermarket chain Tesco wasn't spared from a similar controversy either, when a range of school shoes got slammed by a teacher<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4777936/Teacher-slams-Tesco-selling-sexist-school-shoes.html Teachera slamsrange Tescoof forschool sellingshoes 'sexist'got schoolslammed shoes]</ref>by a teacher for its alleged use of gender stereotypes] most especially the "sensitive soles" on the girls' shoes with a pink butterfly design on the soles in question. Surprising they didn't take their aim at Italian children's footwear brand Lelli Kelly for selling girls' shoes with gaudy and flamboyantly feminine, if not infantile, designs, which has become something of a [[Snark Bait|running joke]] for those in the UK who have been subjected to cringe-worthy commercials promoting said brand.
* The Ford Pinto was an economy car deserving of merit, if not for its [[Achilles' Heel]] that is the gas tank flaw which [[Every Car Is a Pinto|made the car combust in a rear-end collision]], and the subsequent controversy ensuing from it. Ford reportedly decided that paying out on wrongful-death lawsuits would be cheaper than fixing it.
* Heck, even Henry Ford himself had his reputation smeared, no thanks to his antisemitic views. He was one of the few Americans whom [[Adolf Hitler]] admired and mentioned in ''[[Mein Kampf]]''. Ford also had the canard ''The International Jew, the World's Foremost Problem'', as well as the forgery ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', republished. Ironically enough, he also hired black employees as well as women and people with disabilities, and if one source was to be believed, Ford was reportedly so distraught by the extent of the atrocities of the [[Holocaust]] that "he collapsed with a stroke – his last and most serious" after he was shown newsreel footage of what transpired at the time. Even more ironic was that he was a Freemason, a secretive fraternal society often if not always alleged to have been plotting for a New World Order amongst other conspiracies, and is generally viewed with contempt if not outright condemnation by most Christian denominations (especially the Roman Catholic Church), not to mention that Hitler had the Freemasonry, amongst other similar societies, purged during the Holocaust. If the likes of [[Alex Jones]] are virulently campaigning against Freemasonry and the NWO, the idea of an ''inducted Freemason'' [[Boomerang Bigot|believing in and espousing the same beliefs]] as Jones and co. would certainly confuse some people.
* Fashion designer [[Coco Chanel]] is arguably the most famous couturier in history, having popularised the little black dress, Chanel No. 5 and a few others. She was however known for her alleged anti-Semitism and collaboration with the Nazis, which unsurprisingly soured her reputation post-mortem, particularly when more details about the less-savoury aspects of her life were declassified in the 2010s. The company which now bears her name tried to refute and downplay her role as a Nazi agent, though the stigma still remains.
* Same goes with Hugo Boss, whose eponymous founder designed the uniforms worn by Nazi officers and utilised slave labour (from concentration camp inmates no less) in producing them.
* The teleconferencing platform Zoom received a surge in popularity during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] where people are forced indoors to prevent the spread of the virus and are thus restricted to remote meetings. This however turned to infamy when numerous security and privacy issues with Zoom surfaced, one such incident with Pasig City, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGkexC_x5zE Philippines mayor Vico Sotto having his meeting raided by an errant troll who shoved in what appears to be a sexually-explicit picture of a naked man sitting on a chair].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGkexC_x5zE Zoom conference ni Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto at mga journalist, nasingitan ng ibang litrato (in Tagalog)]</ref> These so-called "Zoombombing" incidents eventually led to both enterprises and schools banning the use of Zoom in favour of open-source alternatives such as Jitsi.<ref>[https://appfigures.com/resources/insights/jitsi-meet-zoom-alternative The Open Source Zoom Alternative with More than 1Jitsi].4M Downloads]</ref>
* 5G cellular technology also had its reputation tainted no thanks to the above-mentioned pandemic. The reason? [[Cloudcuckoolander]] [[Conspiracy Theorist]]s accusing the radio standard of somehow facilitating the spread of the virus. This got to the point where paranoid and gullible people bought into the canard and left comments blindly accusing 5G for causing the disease (even though there's substantial evidence to the contrary, and 5G coverage hasn't been that widespread yet even in areas where it was deployed), and some took it [[Up To Eleven]] by [[What an Idiot!|raiding]] cell sites and firebombing the masts to knock them offline. Unsurprisingly, those who attempted to do such an imbecilic act were arrested for their antics, and social media users joked about how they were unable to get cellular coverage as a result of such idiocy-induced terrorism. Not helping matters are charlatans who are quick to cash in on the scare by selling (phony) deterrents against 5G radio waves in the form of USB-OTG devices to be plugged on a cellphone, and those spreading [[Chain Letter]]s on Facebook and elsewhere alleging a sinister scheme linked to 5G and vaccines against COVID-19, sometimes using the "satanic panic" canard for added shock value.
** Such mass paranoia over cellular technologies are nothing new, however. Back when cellphones and text messaging started gaining mainstream adoption in the late 90s to early 2000s, fears about electromagnetic radiation emitted by cellular towers and cellphones themselves started circulating on the internet and through word of mouth, and some cashed in by selling so-called "anti-radiation" decals meant to be placed on cellphones, purportedly to mitigate the radiation coming from said devices.
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* As mentioned in the ''Toddlers and Tiaras'' example, child beauty pageants have earned something of a dubious reputation no thanks to controversies over age-appropriateness, working conditions and issues with sexualization of children participating in such contests. While some pageants are more or less innocuous and are by no means malicious in nature such as in the case of the "Little Miss Philippines" segment in ''[[Eat Bulaga!]]'', with which notable actresses such as [[Ryzza Mae Dizon]] and [[Ice Seguerra]] first became famous for, the over-the-top and borderline paedophilic things stage mothers have their daughters subjected to has led some jurisdictions to either restrict or outright ban pageants for children under 13.
* Once well-established as a leading and prestigious authority in human and natural superlatives, the ''[[Guinness Book Of World Records]]'' has since been viewed with scorn and ridicule over the past few years at least in some circles:
** Critics of the ''Records'' contend that the organisation has become something of a vanity show especially with the change in business model due to the decline in book sales in favour of the Internet and social media. One could pay top dollar to have their names on print, even if it meant doing the most bizarre or useless stunt such as burping as loud as they could or wearing as many sweaters as possible just for the privilege.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/09/20/552203402/episode-795-is-record-breaking-broken Smith,burping Staceyas Vanek;loud Saakashvili,as Eduardthey (20could Septemberor 2017).wearing Isas Recordmany Breakingsweaters Broken?as Nationalpossible] Publicjust Radiofor the privilege.]</ref> Television talk show host [[John Oliver]] voiced similar criticism on his eponymous programme where he highlighted the corporate-driven "records" commissioned by General Mills for the world's longest line of tacos, as well as a more serious concern when Guinness was paid by [[Turkmenistan]], a country with a dubious human rights record, to confer to them a number of "world records" out of publicity's sake.
** Amongst gaming circles, the ''Records'' has also become something of a joke especially in light of the Billy Mitchell and Todd Rogers high score scandals. Mitchell in particular had his title stripped by Twin Galaxies due to issues as to the veracity of his records, but these were dubiously reinstated by Guinness shortly after. Their lack of expertise in games and overall reputation as an adjudicator of superlatives has led some gamers, one of them being speedrunning commentator Karl Jobst, to call for Guinness to stay out of video gaming as the community has already established reputable authorities to moderate and verify gaming records.
** A number of categories and records were also retired due to ethical and safety concerns, particularly with food and more dangerous stunts. The "youngest mother" record in particular was removed out of respect for a South American mother whose [[Squick|childhood pregnancy]] was an unfortunate story of its own.
* Toyota's reputation took a hit when a scandal broke out from a now-infamous 911 call of a man and his family panicking as they were trying to put their Toyota to stop to no avail, crashing into another car and falling into a ravine, resulting in the death of all passengers. This and several other incidents prompted the Japanese automaker to issue a mandatory recall of affected models, along with investigations and hearings from American legislators seeking to probe on the rash of incidents involving Toyotas as well as a tearful apology from president and CEO Akio Toyoda.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziGfQyCXiU4 Toyotaa chieftearful getsapology emotionalfrom president and CEO Akio Toyoda]</ref>. A number of possible factors were investigated, among them a faulty floor mat, the pedal mechanism itself and software errors, though driver error and complacency has also been blamed particularly from the elderly whose judgement may be impaired or those who aren't easily acquainted and thus confused by new vehicles.<ref>[https://www.manufacturing.net/automotive/blog/13110434/the-2009-toyota-accelerator-scandal-that-wasnt-what-it-seemed Thewhose 2009judgement Toyotamay Acceleratorbe Scandalimpaired Thator Wasn’tthose Whatwho Itaren't Seemedeasily acquainted and thus confused by new vehicles]</ref>. Many of those who have panicked over a car that had gone rouge did not for a second think about turning off the ignition or shifting to neutral (which would have outright destroyed the transmission but saved the occupants from more serious harm), and most of these incidents occurred on automatic transmission cars, which most Americans are far more accustomed to compared to manual transmission cars. Also criticised was the intense media coverage about the scandal, with periodicals and auto magazines faulting mainstream media outlets for [[Strawman News Media|"overblown"]] disproportionate coverage and what was seen as unfair demonizing at Toyota's expense.
* Junípero Serra was praised for establishing Franciscan missions in and around what was then Spanish-occupied California, and was beatified by [[The Pope|Pope John Paul II]] on 25 September 1988 in the [[Vatican City]]. His missionary work was however tainted and criticised especially in later years by Native American groups who accused the priest of genocide, subjugation and forced conversion of Indigenous American groups into Catholicism. Such was the outrage that several monuments erected in his honour were either [[Off with His Head|decapitated]] or otherwise desecrated in protest of Serra's alleged atrocities. Other Native Americans however were more positive towards Serra and his canonisation to sainthood, and had no ill feelings towards his missions in California.
* Photobucket used to be the go-to place to upload albums upon albums of images and videos for those who need to embed images on a website or forum, but don't have their own web space to host them to. But not only was the $399 subscription fee–first implemented in 2017 and required for users to embed images–tantamount to extortion (they later changed it to $4.48 to $11.48 monthly, but still...), it was also seen as a ''nightmare'' for internet historians, archivists and those who had years if not decades worth of irreplaceable images now replaced with watermarked versions due to Photobucket's draconian business model. This ultimately cemented Photobucket's contemporary reputation as a now-washed up and has-been image host, especially as the likes of Imgur have overshadowed it.