Budweiser critics have accused the beer brand of hiding replies after it broke its two-month Twitter hiatus.
The beer brand went quiet on social media after its stablemate, Bud Light, faced a national boycott campaign over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
One of Budweiser's first tweets since April celebrated its 'Camo Bottles,' a series of limited edition bespoke beer bottles celebrating military veterans and first responders.
The special bottles are part of Budweiser's 13-year-long relationship with Folds of Honor, an organization that provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of fallen and disabled military service-members and first responders.
In another tweet, Budweiser wrote: "When it's time to call it a day, it's time for a Bud."
When it's time to call it a day, it's time for a Bud.
— Budweiser (@budweiserusa) June 21, 2023
While the company was flooded with replies, some people who also wanted to criticize Budweiser because it was owned by the same company as Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch, accused the company of hiding negative replies to its tweet.
"They're hiding criticism 😁 Click on the hidden responses. They're hilarious #BudLight," wrote one person on Twitter.
Another added: "Budweiser is trying so hard to hack like they're back. PR intern is working overtime hiding the replies. Only leave comments from what I am sure are Ab InBev employees tasked with trying to make the comment section seem like realistic Twitter banter."
A third tweeted: "There's 10x more hidden comments than comments that were allowed, and the ones that were allowed are all basically saying the same thing. hmmmm, what a weird coincidence."
Hidden tweets included comments such as "How much are you being paid to pretend you are excited?" and "When it's time to call it a day on your brand, Bud leads the way."
Newsweek contacted Budweiser for comment.
In 2019, Twitter introduced a function where users could hide replies to tweets, but they could still be seen by clicking on a button to reveal their content.
Twitter users can also filter what content appears in their replies, and if deemed offensive or insensitive, it is automatically hidden, rather than the account holder doing so manually.
"Tweet authors have the option to hide replies to their Tweets. Everyone can still access hidden replies through the hidden reply icon, which shows up on the original Tweet when there are hidden replies. Additionally, the Tweet author can unhide a reply at any time. When a Tweet author hides a reply, the author of the reply will not be notified," Twitter explains on its website.
The boycott, supported by conservative figures, is still having an impact on Anheuser-Busch's business. Bud Light off-premise sales have continued to see sustained contractions compared to the same time last year.
The latest tracking figures by Nielsen IQ, provided to Newsweek by Bump Williams Consulting, show that in the week ending June 10, Bud Light sales volume—the number of units of beer sold—was 30.3 percent lower than in the same week in 2022, the largest such drop since the week ending April 1.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
