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Trucking company says they had ‘nothing to do with’ trucker’s Tik Tok video that inspired backlash against them

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A Utah-based trucking company says they have been “dragged”  into a political fight on Tik Tok that they have nothing to do with. 

ShipEx, a Salt Lake City trucking company, has been wrongly accused of an association with a heated Tik Tok spat, all because of a video filmed at a truck stop that “barely” showcases one of their trucks, reported KSL News Radio.

The controversy begins with Tik Tok user Nicole Head, who took to Tik Tok to ask for help in saving her family’s farm in upstate New York, which was set to go up for auction after the family fell on hard times. 

@nicolehead

##hunting ##hunter ##deer ##archery ##whitetail ##farm ##farmer ##dad ##grandpa ##family ##fyp ##viral ##pray ##help ##save ##GhostMode

♬ original sound – Nicole Head

“Headline Farm has been in our family for 125 years,” Head wrote on her GoFundMe page. “Due to personal issues that have come up, my father is being forced to put our farmland up for auction.  It breaks my heart to see all of my father and grandfather’s hard work and dedication having to be taken away from them. This is more than just a farm. This is our home. We are surrounded by this land everywhere we look.”

The story soon started circulating under the hashtag #savethefarm, and many took notice, including a Tik Tok user and truck driver under the username @zyereri, who began approaching the story from a political and “petty” point of view. 

@zyereri

@profitmakerstl ##takethefarm ##takeover ##liberalunity ##democrats ##biden2020 ##anyonebutrump2020 ##greenscreen ##voiceeffects ##sethroganforpresident

♬ original sound – Zyereri

“If you know anything about Republicans, you know they hate receiving things for free,” she stated in a Tik Tok video, apparently referencing pro-Trump posts made by Nicole, which have since been taken off of Tik Tok. 

“So, I, being the thoughtful and petty person that I am, would love to help her keep her Republican values intact by buying the farm when it goes up for auction,” Zyereri continued.

Zyereri then proceeds to explain her plan – a GoFundMe created in order to raise money for Zyereri and her supporters to buy the farm when it goes up for auction as a way to punish Nicole Head for her apparently Republican values. 

In another one of her videos regarding the #savethefarm controversy, Zyereri can be seen walking through a truck stop parking lot when a ShipEx truck’s logo briefly appears on the screen – and that’s where the problem started. 

@zyereri

##takethefarm

♬ original sound – Zyereri

“You can barely, for half a second, see the logo of the truck,” said ShipEx Marketing Manager Vadim Komarov, who says that this brief appearance of their logo is what sparked the rumor that Zyereri worked for them. 

Because of the aforementioned video, ShipEx has been flooded with angry calls and emails demanding action be taken against Zyereri for the #savethefarm controversy, but Komarov says that she does not drive for them and that they have absolutely nothing to do with either saving or buying the farm. 

It’s been an unusual week at ShipEX to say the least… You may have heard that we were wrongfully mixed up in the…

Posted by ShipEX on Saturday, October 31, 2020

 “We would never do something like that,’” Komarov said.

“[When the messages started coming in] Our team immediately jumped on it and went through our HR records to see if we could find this person. Nothing came up. We had no idea who she was,” Komarov said.  “We have zero association of any kind with this person outside of her walking past a truck.”

Still, the company says it has become a full time job convincing people that they aren’t just covering for the controversial Tik Toker, and they recently released a statement on their social media platforms to address the constant accusations:

Hello, I work for ShipEX and we have received several messages regarding this individual. I have confirmed with our management that Zyereri does not work for ShipEX. When we were unable to find any record of her, our team started investigating externally and discovered a video on social media where she walks passed one of our trucks. That is the extent of her association with our company – accidentally capturing one of our trucks in her video. 

 We do not condone any hate speech or hateful acts of any kind. We are a family-oriented company and have employees from different backgrounds, different views, etc. No matter the differences, we treat each other like family and show respect to everyone, regardless of their views or background.  

 This is a rather unfortunate mix up. We would really appreciate it if you could update your post to reflect this and stop this from spreading.  

Since the beginning of the controversy, Nicole Head’s GoFundMe raised enough money to prevent their farm from going to auction, saving the family farm after all. Additionally, Zyereri’s GoFundMe has apparently been removed by the website.

@nicolehead

##savethefarm ##savedthefarm ##farmer ##family ##pray ##farmer ##farmarmy ##WeWinTogether ##OhNo ##fyp

♬ original sound – Nicole Head
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