Just when you think you’re doing the right thing, Mashable is there to tell you otherwise.

No, really. We thought it was okay to pay tribute to the 13th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Never in a million years did we think brands would be smeared for doing that. But don’t worry, Mashable was there to smack some sense into us. Especially since they gave such good reasoning for their stance and had so much evidence to prove that most of America actually wants to ignore the 9/11 anniversary.  We’re so happy we’ve been enlightened.

Kidding.

While the article really doesn’t provide much explanation, it can be garnered that they’re accusing brands of click-baiting and using a tragedy to generate sales and engagement.  The only thing we could come up with that may have been a tad distasteful is the brands transposing their logo on to the tribute pictures. Even so, they weren’t directly selling any products, rather they were simply paying their respects as we all did that day.

One facet of the article that struck us was the type of companies that were included in the compilation. The Mashable writer referenced comedian Joe Mande who was responsible for providing the list of brands paying 9/11 tribute. Included in this list were well-known and well-liked brands such as CVS, White Castle, Huggies, and Dunkin Donuts but there were also more controversial companies like Brazzers and Fleshlight (both members of the porn industry), Glock, Inc., Smith & Wesson, and Colt Firearms (all members of the firearms industry). The variety of these brands was so strong that we can’t help but wonder if they were included because of the type of companies they are. Porn and firearms don’t exactly go hand-in-hand with the general population (at least not outwardly…). Regardless of industry, we don’t believe any brand or company should be ostracized for joining in the national conversation of remembrance. It’s part of who we are

Perhaps the most enraging aspect of this ordeal is that while Mashable was criticizing brands for click-baiting, they were actually doing that exact thing…at the expense of so many others. Mashable posted their article on their Facebook page and it generated more engagement than any of their posts that week.  Aside from click-baiting, Mashable posted their very own Facebook post and Tweet in remembrance of 9/11 about three hours earlier! It’s okay for them to do it but not for the rest of the world. Got it.  So not only are they cruel and unjustified, they’re also gigantic hypocrites. Cool. Good job guys. Luckily, the internet was there to put Mashable in their place. We can attest that this was probably the first time that every single commenter was in complete agreement  with one another. No trolls present.

This brings us to our next question. Did Mashable post this article solely to make us mad? Maybe they don’t even believe what they were insinuating and they just wrote it to get a rise out of people; make people talk.  We can’t say it’s impossible but it’s definitely a shame that they used a tragedy like September 11th to facilitate their cause. No matter which way we look at it, we can’t find it in us to cut Mashable a break.

We put in literally hours of research trying to figure out exactly the root of  this article. Stay tuned for said research. As of right now, the only conclusion we were able to make was that Mashable may have just dug their own grave.