Walmart recently got in trouble for selling a ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ t-shirt on its website with some extremely concerning implications. That’s because the shirt, sold online for a brief amount of time, featured a Nazi salute printed on it. The grocery store has since apologized for the mix-up. However, it left many people wondering, is the great value store turning alt-right?
The shirt ended up on Walmart’s site through the Walmart Marketplace program. Posts on the Reddit page r/MarchAgainstNazis subreddit mass-reported the t-shirt, creating a viral outrage that’s ended up on platforms like TikTok.
That’s where Allie (@cirqueduallie) posted about it. “Did y’all see the new Walmart rock, paper, scissors shirt? They’re not even trying to hide…” said Allie, in a video that’s gotten 13.4 million views.
What was on the t-shirt?
Many people wondered how bad a “rock, paper, scissors” t-shirt could be, but then they saw it.
“It can’t be that bad can it? oh…oh it is that bad,” said one commenter on Allie’s video.
That’s because the t-shirt clearly depicts a Nazi Salute “triumphing” over a raised fist, a signal of empowerment within the Black Panther movement. The shirt’s lettering reads, “paper over rock,” with the paper being the salute in question. In essence, the shirt’s messaging is “fascism over activism.”
Why would Walmart post a shirt like this?
It’s important to know that Walmart itself didn’t create the shirt; a third-party seller using Walmart’s platform did. Walmart’s Marketplace program allows third-party sellers to apply and sell various goods using their website.
Based on Walmart’s policies, the company investigates third-party sellers before marketplace approval. We don’t currently know whether Walmart individually inspects any additional items that the seller posts on the platform past that point. But, it seems as though the primary vetting process happens toward the beginning of a seller launching on the site.
Sellers control their own inventory and shipments unless they’re partnered with a Walmart fulfillment center or program. Generally, that means third-party sellers are completely in control of handling the product—not Walmart. Walmart can pull items off its platform almost immediately if it see an issue, something that happened with the ‘Paper Beats Rock’ t-shirt.
This particular third-party seller, which has since been removed from Walmart’s platform, also sold t-shirts depicting events from protests across the country. “The account is just profiting off of outrage and current events,” said one Reddit user. “They also have shirts of the inflatable frog guy from protests and the guy that threw the sandwich at a cop.”
TikTok and Reddit commenters debate—Boycott Walmart?
Despite Walmart taking down the product immediately, many people wondered whether it was worth investing in large corporations that would allow this to happen in the first place.
“‘Walmart shirt’ and it’s a weird third party seller,” said one commenter on TikTok. They pointed out that Walmart, indeed, did not approve or handle the t-shirt. Then, a person replied, “Not unreasonable to boycott Walmart for fueling these companies.”
Another person added, “Do you know how difficult it is to get a contract with Walmart to sell your [company’s] items on their shelves? Please understand that there are checks and balances in place… this was a choice… Don’t believe me? Give it a try. That’s genuinely insane.”
@cirqueduallie Did yall see the new Walmart rock paper scissors shirt? They’re not even trying to hide … #walmart #rockpaperscissors ♬ i like to think you’re the leaves – mage tears
Walmart’s response
A spokesperson from Walmart responded to Snopes, saying, “We have zero tolerance for any prohibited or offensive products appearing on our Marketplace. The items in question were listed by a third-party seller and have been removed from our site and the seller terminated for violating our prohibited products policy. When issues like this are identified, we act immediately to remove them and strengthen our systems to prevent a recurrence. The trust of our customers and the integrity of our platform remain paramount.”
The Mary Sue has also reached out to Walmart for comment. We’ve sent a message to Allie.
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Rachel Thomas
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