Target Corp. said this afternoon that it has fired the employee responsible for putting "It's okay to be white" cards in some diaper boxes.
Target fires employee responsible for putting 'It's okay to be white' cards in diaper boxes
A handful of incidents of customers finding the cards with the phrase associated with the alt-right were reported around the country
April 10, 2018 at 9:40PM
"We have identified the source, and given this is a violation of our policies and our commitment to inclusivity, terminated the team member," Joshua Thomas, a Target spokesman, said in a statement.
A handful of customers around the U.S. have reported finding laminated cards inside diaper boxes they purchased from Target that said "It's okay to be white," a slogan often used by white supremacist groups. The back side of the cards included links to various white supremacist and neo-Nazi websites including the Right Stuff, the Daily Stormer and the Traditionalist Worker Party, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which recently wrote a blog post about the issue.
The Minneapolis-based retailer didn't elaborate on how it identified the employee or where he or she worked. But since incidents were reported all around the country -- in Florida, Tennessee and Washington DC , it seems likely the employee worked in a warehouse.
"We sincerely apologize to guests who received an inappropriate message in their Target purchase and thank them for calling it to our attention," said Thomas. "After being made aware of the situation, we immediately launched a thorough investigation to address the concerns and put a stop to it."
The Anti-Defamation League said it had also reached out to local and federal law enforcement after learning of these incidents.
The cuts, including 475 headquarters jobs, come amid a corporate restructuring in response to falling sales and profits.
