Cincinnati Zoo Quits Twitter Over Harambe Memes The @cincinnatizoo account is no longer active, but the zoo's Facebook and Instagram accounts are still live.
By Don Reisinger •
This story originally appeared on PCMag
The Cincinnati Zoo has had enough of social media.
As The Guardian reports, the zoo quit Twitter over viral jokes about Harambe, a gorilla who the zoo was forced to shoot to save a 3-year-old boy who fell into Harambe's enclosure. While the initial reaction to Harambe's shooting online was sadness, the gorilla quickly turned into a meme, which irked zoo officials like director Thane Maynard.
"We are not amused by the memes, petitions, and signs about Harambe," Maynard told the AP. Constant mentions of Harambe "makes moving forward more difficult for us."
The @cincinnatizoo account is no longer active, but the zoo's Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest accounts are still live.
Some argue that users are simply making light of a difficult situation, but others say the focus is solely on making fun of an animal who was killed. As The Guardian highlights, the zoo's Twitter account was often inundated with Harambe-related mentions on all posts. Seems like that account might have benefited from Twitter's "quality filter."
The Cincinnati Zoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
