Many of the people claiming to be upset about Cracker Barrel’s logo change last month were not people at all.
According to data from researcher PeakMetrics, more than 44% of the social media posts mentioning Cracker Barrel in the first 24 hours of the logo backlash were likely created by bots—fake accounts that can flood social feeds with auto-generated posts and comments.
The finding suggests that at least part of the Cracker Barrel uproar was not an organic response from real consumers but rather manufactured by bots with an agenda.
The bot posts fell into two main buckets: critiques of Cracker Barrel for going “woke” and abandoning its heritage; and calls for a leadership change, boycott or logo reversal.
PeakMetrics found strong evidence that the response was coordinated. For instance, about 70% of the bots used the same wording, it said. But it could not say for sure who was behind the bot accounts or how exactly they were being operated. It did conclude that the bot accounts were likely based in the U.S.
And though bots fanned the flames, the negative reaction to the logo change started with real people, particularly right-leaning accounts like @planetofmemes, PeakMetrics said. These posts then sparked activity from bots that amplified the message.
The situation snowballed to the point that President Donald Trump weighed in, urging Cracker Barrel to go back to its old logo. Steak n Shake, the fast-food chain owned by longtime Cracker Barrel critic Sardar Biglari, also made numerous posts attacking Cracker Barrel.
The situation shows how even a small misstep can be blown out of proportion on social media by forces beyond a company’s control.
In this case, it was Cracker Barrel’s removal of a man and a barrel from its logo on Aug. 19 that led to an almost instant cascade of negative sentiment online.
And it certainly had an impact. One week after the crisis began, the chain scrapped the new logo; about two weeks later, it halted plans to remodel its restaurants.
In both instances, Cracker Barrel said it had heard customers’ concerns that it was moving away from its nostalgic essence, and assured them that it would stick to its roots from now on.
But the damage had been done: Cracker Barrel’s traffic plunged 8% in the wake of the firestorm, and it delivered a dour forecast for the year ahead as it works to regain the lost business.
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