Lockheed Martin's #WorldPhotoDay Tweet Backfires
Lockheed Martin wanted to turn World Photo Day into a publicity stunt, but their efforts backfired spectacularly.
The American defense contractor, which also doubles as the world’s largest weapons manufacturer, asked its followers to share “an amazing photo of one of our products” on Saturday.
Instead the photos they received in response were filled with blood and violence reportedly caused by its products in Yemen.
Lockheed Martin deleted the initial tweet hours later.
The tweet followed reports that a Lockheed Martin 500-pound laser-guided MK 82 bomb was used in an attack on a school bus in Yemen that killed dozens of people, including children, earlier this month.
On Friday, CNN identified the weapon used in the attack, launched by a Saudi-led coalition, with the help of Yemeni journalists and munitions experts.
Former President Barack Obama had blocked the sale of precision-guided military technology to Saudi Arabia, according to CNN, but the Trump administration reversed the ban in 2017.
Lockheed Martin has since deleted its #WorldPhotoDay tweet, but the responses it inspired from anti-war activists live on.
The fact that lockheed martin has a generic, happy little corporate twitter is wild to me
— proximityboy damp (@NKluwak) August 18, 2018
Dear @LockheedMartin , you asked people to tweet "amazing photos of one of our products" (https://t.co/ni5dTEzG6N). Here it is : This is a fragment of YOUR bomb, a laser-guided MK 82, which #SaudiArabia used to kill 40 #Children in #Yemen last week https://t.co/8kmhPCyava pic.twitter.com/uFj3oxsO44
— Donatella Rovera (@DRovera) August 18, 2018
Here is the product of your products: pic.twitter.com/3gAJGDtZmp
— Johny David (@JohnyDavid8) August 18, 2018
Sure do! You deserve this, Lockheed Martin social media intern! pic.twitter.com/NJ2R2Wtc8J
— Single Payer Now | Abolish ICE | Boycott Israel (@blueherring32) August 18, 2018
@LockheedMartin should be mentioned in this. They must be very proud of the product placement. https://t.co/VborLPqQoX
— Jason Wallace (@JasonWaWa) August 18, 2018
I'd post pictures of yemen, but that would violate twitter terms of service https://t.co/1afmafRcxz
— Johan Strauss ☭ 🇨🇳 (@johanstrauss91) August 18, 2018
Here is something you can feature: #WorldPhotoDay https://t.co/iaI9MzbHEj
— Ninma🌹 (@Ninma_) August 18, 2018
This one in particular was made by @LockheedMartin and sold to #SaudiArabia to support their tireless efforts to bring peace and stability to the ME. https://t.co/RCgywkNHTe
— Sina Azodi (@Azodiac83) August 18, 2018
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.