Twitter Inc (TWTR) Hashtag #AskJPM By JPMorgan Backfires

Updated on

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) specializes in helping companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) build their brands and improve their online reputations. Unfortunately, however, sometimes these companies’ efforts turn against them. That’s exactly what happened to JPMorgan Chase when it introduced a new hashtag which was supposed to provide a more direct line of communication between consumers and executives.

JPMorgan creates Twitter hashtag #AskJPM

Bloomberg’s Dawn Kopecki reports that Users of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s network started using the hashtag to mock and taunt JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) executives. The comments were so bad that the bank canceled the forum. Within just six hours of the first post introducing the #AskJPM hashtag, the bank tweeted:

#Badidea! Back to the drawing board.”

JPMorgan and the “Snarkpocalypse” on Twitter

Fittingly, @ReformedBroker dubbed the incident “the Snarkpocalypse.” Most comments were focused on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s seeming endless list of legal problems. Admittedly, it’s pretty hard not to snicker a little when reading some of these comments, although I’m sure the bank isn’t laughing at all. If the bank had a physical face, it would probably be feeling pretty flush this morning.

Bloomberg quotes one user as asking, “What’s your favorite type of whale?” Of course this is a reference to the London Whale case in which the bank lost billions because of a bad bet made by the London-based trader known as the London Whale for the massive sizes of his risky positions.

JPMorgan’s other legal problems

In addition to the London Whale case, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has also been facing problems with a bribery probe in Asia and an investigation into its relationship with Bernie Madoff, the convicted Ponzi scheme operator. The bank is also trying to negotiate a settlement regarding the sale of mortgage-backed securities and dealing with an investigation into allegations that it helped manipulate foreign exchange rates.

Other comments were in relationship to how the bank had treated Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) users in the past. One Twitter use was quoted as asking the bank if he could have his house bank, while another asked if JPM really stands for “Just Pay More.”

Leave a Comment