'Boycott Target' Adds 11,000 New Facebook Supporters in One Week

The $150,000 that Target Corp. gave to Minnesota Forward, a group supporting pro-business causes in the retailer's home state, may turn out to be the most expensive donation the retailer has ever made.

Minnesota Forward's support of Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, an opponent of same-sex marriage, drew the ire of gay rights groups beginning in late July. But the "Boycott Target" movement really caught fire in August, when progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org created a Facebook page calling for a boycott of the retailer until it stopped funding anti-gay causes.

Despite an August 5 apology from Target's chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel, the anti-Target movement continued to gain momentum. By August 10, the "Boycott Target" Facebook page had amassed more than 52,000 supporters, and this week 63,555 members of the world's largest social media site are on board. (The retailer's Facebook page has more than 1.6 million followers.)

Target is also catching flak in the physical world. There have been protests at Target stores, and another protest is planned for a fashion event Target will be holding at New York's Standard Hotel on August 18.

Even when the protests die down, the controversy could have long-term ramifications. In July, Target had announced plans to open two stores in San Francisco, a city well known for supporting gay rights. According to published reports quoting San Francisco Board of Supervisors member and mayoral candidate Bevan Duffy, the fate of the stores is now up in the air.

As of now, there's little sign of the controversy fading. Target had been in discussions with Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) civil rights organization, but they broke down August 16. An HRC statement said discussions ended because Target would "take no corrective actions to repair the harm that it caused by contributing $150,000 to an organization supporting a vehemently anti-gay candidate closely associated with a Christian rock band that advocates death and violence to gay people. In response, HRC announced that it will devote $150,000 of its own resources to help elect a pro-equality governor and legislature in Minnesota."

In its statement, HRC president Joe Solmonese said "All fair-minded Americans will now rightly question Target's commitment to equality. If their initial contribution was a slap in the face, their refusal to make it right is a punch in the gut and that's not something we will soon forget."

Target has been put on the defensive throughout the controversy. Prior to his August 6 apology, Steinhafel issued a message to Target team members referencing their concern about the Minnesota Forward donation. That July 27 message said the donation was made because of Minnesota Forward's pro-business stance, and cited the company's commitment to diversity and its support of LGBT causes, as well as its 100% rating on the 2009 and 2010 HRC Corporate Equality Index, but it contained no explicit apology for the action.

Steinhafel's August 5 apology, which included a promise of a strategic review of the company's decision-making process for public policy donations, came after the controversy had gained social media momentum and mass media attention. On August 6, Target had to issue a denial that it had knowingly supported California's Proposition 8, the voter referendum banning same-sex marriage that was recently found to violate the state's constitution.

Retailers and other large corporations are discovering the downside of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision earlier this year, which loosened previous restrictions on corporate donations to political candidates and causes. Public scrutiny of companies in the public eye, such as retailers, and the momentum-building power of social media, could be quite problematic for any type of donation that could be considered controversial.

For related article see: Target Boycott Campaign Goes Viral, Quickly Hits 52,000 on Facebook