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The online storm surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood came to a close on Friday when Komen reversed its decision.

Score another point for social media.

On Tuesday, the Komen Foundation announced new funding criteria that would severely restrict grants set aside for Planned Parenthood to provide mammograms for low-income women. Planned Parenthood’s CEO alleges that the Komen Foundation pulled support because of political pressure from anti-choice groups.

Planned Parenthood issued a statement Friday thanking the public for its support and pledging continued partnership with Komen.

“With the outpouring of support over the past week,” it said, “even more women in need will receive lifesaving breast cancer care.”

In an apology letter posted to Komen’s website and Facebook, Komen said it was “distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.”

Twitter and Facebook users once again directed a national organization’s policy.

Komen said on its blog on Friday that it initially retracted funding from Planned Parenthood because of an investigation against the organization — not for political reasons. However, Komen says it has changed its internal rules to only restrict funding to organizations that are undergoing criminal and conclusive investigations.

Planned Parenthood is being investigated by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., for possibly using federal money to pay for abortions.

Komen posted a video on its Facebook page with Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker giving some “straight talk” to viewers. In the three-and-a-half minute clip below, Brinker says the de-funding of Planned Parenthood was mischaracterized by some.


“We have the highest responsibility to ensure that these donor dollars make the biggest impact possible,” Brinker said in the video. “Starting in 2010, I initiated a comprehensive review of our grants and standards — this isn’t unusual — we’re always looking at our policies and procedures to be sure that we are doing the right thing for our supporters and the women we serve.”

During the past three days, “Planned Parenthood,” “Komen” and a meme saying “Still Standing With Planned Parenthood” with an arrow pointing to the username have circulated Facebook. The word “Komen” spiked in popularity on Tuesday night when the story first broke, according to WebProNews and Trendistic.

“Social media can play a significant role in organizations’ communications and community building, particularly for nonprofits like Komen and Planned Parenthood whose donor and advocacy base are active on social networks,” said Allyson Kapin, founder of Women Who Tech. “This past week we saw Komen’s community revolt after hearing the news that Komen was planning to take away Planned Parenthood’s funding for breast cancer screening services. And it was not pretty. They broke all rules of community engagement.”

Below are tweets and posts that sum-up the past few days of controversy: