American Travel Agency shuts down after racist messages

Posted On July 8, 2021

American Travel Association, the parent company of The Huffington Press and The Associated Press, has shut down following racist and homophobic messages posted on its Facebook page and Twitter account, according to a statement posted Thursday by the company.

The statement said the company was aware of “a small number of posts that have been deemed inappropriate by our team,” but that the vast majority of the posts were “in good faith” and were removed.

The company said it will not be taking any action against those who shared the posts.

“While we have taken action against some of these posts, we do not believe that any of the comments were meant to be offensive,” the statement said.

“We will continue to take swift and appropriate action when we have identified further violations.”

The company said in a statement that it has also removed an additional 2,000 posts that were deemed inappropriate and apologized to the women and minorities affected by the content.

It also said it has taken disciplinary action against a former employee and is investigating the content of a recent photo essay.

“We take this matter very seriously and are taking every step possible to identify those who have violated our policies,” the company said.

A statement posted on The Huffington View’s website in late October also said the racist posts “do not reflect the values of American Travel, and our team will work to address the issues raised by these incidents.”

“We apologize for the hurt caused by these posts and for any discomfort this may have caused our members and others,” the post read.

“Please know that we have a very strong, dedicated and compassionate team working hard to ensure our company is a welcoming place for everyone.”