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Photo of Skittles Tweeted by Donald Trump Jr. to Demonize Refugees Was Taken by a Refugee
This image says it all. Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first. #trump2016 pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 19, 2016
Skittles began trending on social media last night after Donald Trump Jr. compared the colorful candy to Syrian refugees.
Trump Jr. tweeted a photo of a bowl of Skittles with a caption that read, “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”
He added: “This image says it all. Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first.”
RELATED: Skittles Corrects Donald Trump Jr After Deplorable Tweet: ‘Skittles are Candy. Refugees are People.’
Now, the BBC reports that the photo used by the Trump campaign in the meme was taken by a refugee from Cyprus and used without permission:
David Kittos, 48, from Guildford, UK, woke up to find an image he had posted to Flickr in January 2010 had become embroiled in a political controversy.
“This was not done with my permission, I don’t support his politics and I would never take his money to use it,” Mr Kittos told the BBC. “In 1974, when I was six-years old, I was a refugee from the Turkish occupation of Cyprus so I would never approve the use of this image against refugees.”
Oh, the irony.
As we reported earlier the reaction to Trump Jr.s tweet was swift, and brutal:
Thousands of Syrian children just like Omran have been killed in the war. They aren’t Skittles. They’re children. Just like yours. #Skittles pic.twitter.com/3x7TW8hDOV
— N (@_narbie) September 20, 2016
Denise Young, VP of Corporate Affairs at Wrigley Americas, the owner of Skittles, reacted to the controversy.
Said the company: “Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don’t feel it’s an appropriate analogy. We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing.”
A rep for @Skittles gives me their response to @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/OmkJQkIqug
— Seth Abramovitch (@SethAbramovitch) September 20, 2016
The post Photo of Skittles Tweeted by Donald Trump Jr. to Demonize Refugees Was Taken by a Refugee appeared first on Towleroad.
Photo of Skittles Tweeted by Donald Trump Jr. to Demonize Refugees Was Taken by a Refugee
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