BC Business
Brands from Starbucks to Hobby Lobby have become bolder in recent years taking overtly political stands on public issues. Still, it can be dangerous for companies, even if the people opposing that stance are not customers, the local public or stakeholders of any kind. Boundary Brewing Co. of Kelowna was recently forced to delete its Facebook page and get police involved after it was deluged with hateful commentsfrom members of far-right nationalist groups. The attacks were triggered by a video uploaded on the site featuring owner Oliver Glaser and employees raising a flag favoured by European anti-fascist activists. It was a statement in favour of “love and tolerance,” Glaser said, but after being shared by an Okanagan member of the alt-right group the Three Percenters, the Facebook page attracted some 15,000 hits and a slew of hateful, racist and in some cases threatening messages.