Advertisement

Optus receives flood of support after threats over Arabic ads

Optus has seen an outpouring of support from social media users in the hours since it was forced to remove Arabic language ads from one of its stores.

The telco removed the advertisements from its Casula Mall store in New South Wales after a series of threats were made against staff.

The initial social media reaction to the advertisements written in Arabic was negative. Users took to the company’s Facebook page to declare them inappropriate in the wake of terrorist attacks in France.

“Can I just ask why Optus is advertising in casula mall (sic) in middle eastern language and not English??” one Facebook user wrote.

“This is an outrage, this is Australia not Syria. You are hypocrites saying sorry for Paris etc etc but advertising only for Muslims to read.”


Another wrote: “Very poor taste considering the weekends events. Your advertisement people would be looking for new jobs if I was running the show.”

A third disgruntled sign reader insisted: “Australia is an ENGLISH speaking society. Please REMOVE THESE signs immediately. (sic) & i will be cancelling my account with you”.

Several users slammed Optus for advertising in Arabic. Photo: Facebook
Several users slammed Optus for advertising in Arabic. Photo: Facebook

But while Optus says it has referred threats against staff to police it is standing by its adverts. The company’s social media team went on the front foot to respond to the racially charged statements yesterday.

“We support all cultures as much as we can, just as we would when singing our national anthem: 'For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine, To Advance Australia Fair”,” one response read.

And as news of the controversy broke, supporters began to flood onto Optus’ social media platforms.

“I’m sorry you’ve been having trouble with some monolingual people in this country who have issues with your excellent advertising in Arabic. I note there is so similar outrage at the advertisements in other languages around town,” said one user.

They hatefilled messages appear to have been outnumbered by messages of support by this morning. Photo: Facebook
They hatefilled messages appear to have been outnumbered by messages of support by this morning. Photo: Facebook

Another user said he was “embarrassed by the ignorance some people were displaying.

In a statement, Optus said it encouraged bi-lingual skills in its frontline staff and was committed to eliminating discrimination.

"However, yesterday following a threat to our store staff, we made the decision to remove some materials that were published in Arabic. The safety and security of our staff is paramount.”

Optus’ customers and staff come from a range of backgrounds and speak many different languages. In some communities we actively promote the bi-lingual skills of our front line staff.

The mall confirmed the posters were removed following advice from police. Photo: Facebook
The mall confirmed the posters were removed following advice from police. Photo: Facebook

The Casula Mall’s Facebook page has also seen an influx of angry messages from shoppers, many of whom have claimed victory following Optus’ decision to remove its poster.

“Thank you all for your comments. We unfortunately received a number of threats towards our centre, staff and retailers. Following advice from Police, we decided to remove the poster from the centre,” the centre wrote on its wall.

Removing the posters was not enough to stop the racially-charged debates on Facebook, however. Photo: Facebook
Removing the posters was not enough to stop the racially-charged debates on Facebook, however. Photo: Facebook

According to the 2011 Census, Arabic is the third most spoken language other than English in Australia. Mandarin is the most spoken with 1.6 per cent of Australians able to speak and understand it, followed by Italian, 1.4 per cent, and Arabic, 1.3 per cent.

Cantonese and Greek are each spoken by 1.2 per cent of the population.

Arabic is the official language of 25 countries throughout the world, including Israel where it is the co-official language alongside Hebrew.

News break – November 17