Retail giant Walmart removed a T-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt that depicted a Nazi salute emblazoned on the front, after a multitude of complaints on social media. The T-shirt and hoodie carried the phrase “Paper Beats Rock,” and it showed one hand raised with a flat hand in the upper right corner towering over a raised clenched fist in the lower left corner, holding a rock. The symbolism suggested that fascism would beat Black activism, which prominently uses the raised fist in its protest movements.
The T-shirt and hoodie were made by multiple third-party groups, who listed them for sale on Walmart. One of them, “The Basic Shop,” was identified by online watchdog group LeftCoastRightWatch. There were also reports that the offensive items were available on Amazon. In response, social media users began to work to get the shirts removed, with a Reddit forum dedicated to combating far-right ideologies providing a contact phone number and an online form. According to Snopes, the items were removed from Walmart’s site on Nov. 10.
“We have zero tolerance for any prohibited or offensive products appearing on our marketplace,” a statement from Walmart said. “The items in question were listed by a third-party seller and have been removed from our site for violating our prohibited products policy. When issues like this are identified, we act immediately to remove them and strengthen our systems to prevent a recurrence. The trust of our customers and the integrity of our platform remain paramount.”
It isn’t the first time that Walmart has been called out for having offensive items like this for sale on its website. According to Rolling Stone, the superstore was in hot water last September when a third-party retailer posted two T-shirts promoting the infamous white-power group Skrewdriver on their website.
In an email to LeftCoastRightWatch, Walmart’s Director of Global Communications for the U.S. Marketplace, Blair Cromwell, said: “We have clear guidelines in place, and when items are identified as not meeting our standards or requirements, they are promptly removed and remain blocked from the site. We take these matters seriously and are committed to maintaining a trusted and respectful experience for our customers and communities.”
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Photo: Getty
