When a brand is in the middle of an ongoing PR nightmare, it’s generally not a great idea to hold an open Twitter Q&A session. However, that’s exactly what one well-known theme park did earlier this year. This is just one example of the kind of hard-to-believe, what-were-they-thinking social media mistakes that took place in 2015.
Slurs against women, a suggested act of violence on a beloved animal, a false report of a monarch’s death and the boneheaded hijacking of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day are all among the biggest social media missteps of 2015. Here’s a look back at 10 gigantic gaffes from major brands on Twitter and Facebook, along with some lessons learned that can help other companies avoid similar fates in 2016.