Tinder has admitted that it "overreacted" in sending a series of tweets hitting back at a journalist who wrote an article critical of the app and its effect on dating.
Vanity Fair's Nancy Jo Sales angered Tinder after following up on her article "Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse" with survey results suggesting 30% of Tinder users are married.
Tinder did not take kindly to this, issuing strong rebuttals over a total of 31 tweets.
Hey @nancyjosales — that survey is incorrect. If you're interested in having a factual conversation, we're here. https://t.co/SLWlTLvJuf
— Tinder (@Tinder) August 11, 2015
-@VanityFair & @nancyjosales — we have lots of data. We surveyed 265,000 of our users. But it doesn’t seem like you’re interested in facts.
— Tinder (@Tinder) August 11, 2015
The tweets kept on coming.
Our data tells us that the vast majority of Tinder users are looking for meaningful connections.
— Tinder (@Tinder) August 11, 2015
So we are going to keep focusing on bringing people together. That’s why we’re here. That is why all of us at Tinder work so hard.
— Tinder (@Tinder) August 11, 2015
Talk to our many users in China and North Korea who find a way to meet people on Tinder even though Facebook is banned.
— Tinder (@Tinder) August 11, 2015
If you want to try to tear us down with one-sided journalism, well, that’s your prerogative.
— Tinder (@Tinder) August 11, 2015
The firm has since admitted "we overreacted", telling Wired that it was "saddened to see that the article didn’t touch upon the positive experiences that the majority of our users encounter daily" – although it had not responded to a request for comment from PRWeek before this story was published.
However, by now the firm had already attracted the Twittersphere's attention, with some pointing out that it had scored an own-goal by drawing attention to Sales' piece, and other teasing the company.
Hey @Tinder, I probably never would have read the —not-your-PR— @VanityFair article, but now I will. Good job!
— Nicolas Magand (@nicolasmagand) August 12, 2015
Thank you to the @tinder social media folks for getting me to read a story I would have otherwise ignored.
— Dan Primack (@danprimack) August 12, 2015
the internet right now waiting for @tinder’s next post pic.twitter.com/TczcypR7yl
— jeff in real life (@thecultureofme) August 12, 2015
Aw, poor @Tinder, unable to handle rejection over the Internet from a stranger and hey wait a minute that sounds familiar
— Samantha Escobar (@myhairisblue) August 12, 2015
This article first appeared on prweek.com.
