Sunday, November 15, 2020
Have Amazon foreshadowed the inevitable outcome of Brexit?
For those of us who think we understand devolution, the ongoing tendency in the media to confuse England with Britain or the UK is not just frustrating but also annoying. Their misinformation effectively misleads people as to what is going on in their own country as well as what they need to do to keep themselves safe during a pandemic.
But, it isn't just the UK media who are confused, a number of multi-national companies struggle with the various national identities we apply to ourselves, the latest being Amazon.
As the Independent reports that Amazon has apologised for falsely claiming Northern Ireland was not part of the UK in a tweet that sparked a slew of posts joking that the firm had made a show of support for Irish reunification:
The e-commerce giant’s customer service Twitter account made the error after reaching out to a rugby fan in the province who had found it difficult to watch the Autumn Nations Cup games being hosted by streaming service Amazon Prime.
“We apologise but upon reviewing your location you’re in Northern Ireland,” a representative of the firm wrote to the customer. “Rugby Autumn Nations Cup coverage is exclusively available to Prime members based in the UK. We don’t have the rights to other territories.”.
When the customer responded that Northern Ireland is part of the UK, the firm’s account replied “many apologies but, we don’t have the broadcast rights for Ireland or other territories”.
The company has since apologised for the error, noting that the service is indeed available “in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK”.
However, the initial exchange prompted a surge of bemused comments from users who joked that Amazon had taken a side in the decades long conflict on the island of Ireland between unionists and Irish nationalists. A post, captioned “Amazon making this statement”, featured a picture of Continuity IRA members reading from a piece of paper in front of the republic’s flag.
Another replaced the notorious Bogside “you are now entering free Derry” wall mural with a more Amazon Prime appropriate slogan: "You are now entering free delivery”. One post tweaked the lyrics of nationalist anthem “come out ye Black and Tans” to “Come out ye package fans”.
Those of us following Brexit closely, especially its trashing of the Good Friday Agreement, may think that Amazon are just getting ahead of themselves. The more Boris Johnson screws up our exit from the EU, the more likely a reunited Ireland is looking.
But, it isn't just the UK media who are confused, a number of multi-national companies struggle with the various national identities we apply to ourselves, the latest being Amazon.
As the Independent reports that Amazon has apologised for falsely claiming Northern Ireland was not part of the UK in a tweet that sparked a slew of posts joking that the firm had made a show of support for Irish reunification:
The e-commerce giant’s customer service Twitter account made the error after reaching out to a rugby fan in the province who had found it difficult to watch the Autumn Nations Cup games being hosted by streaming service Amazon Prime.
“We apologise but upon reviewing your location you’re in Northern Ireland,” a representative of the firm wrote to the customer. “Rugby Autumn Nations Cup coverage is exclusively available to Prime members based in the UK. We don’t have the rights to other territories.”.
When the customer responded that Northern Ireland is part of the UK, the firm’s account replied “many apologies but, we don’t have the broadcast rights for Ireland or other territories”.
The company has since apologised for the error, noting that the service is indeed available “in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK”.
However, the initial exchange prompted a surge of bemused comments from users who joked that Amazon had taken a side in the decades long conflict on the island of Ireland between unionists and Irish nationalists. A post, captioned “Amazon making this statement”, featured a picture of Continuity IRA members reading from a piece of paper in front of the republic’s flag.
Another replaced the notorious Bogside “you are now entering free Derry” wall mural with a more Amazon Prime appropriate slogan: "You are now entering free delivery”. One post tweaked the lyrics of nationalist anthem “come out ye Black and Tans” to “Come out ye package fans”.
Those of us following Brexit closely, especially its trashing of the Good Friday Agreement, may think that Amazon are just getting ahead of themselves. The more Boris Johnson screws up our exit from the EU, the more likely a reunited Ireland is looking.
