Last spring, the political upheaval in the Middle East was brought about, in large part, by social media: individuals communicating displeasure with their government through social media outlets.
This spring, a longstanding component of ground beef was tagged with a disparaging name that went “viral.” Inside of three weeks, the producer was forced to suspend operations at three of its facilities, and some of its higher-profile customers — bowing to consumer outcry — had the component removed from the ground beef they sold. This harm was not limited to one company. Sales of ground beef are still down, impacting the entire industry.