Why Martha Stewart's Post About A Soda Machine Has Instagram Arguing

In 1999, linguistics professor Deborah Tannen published a book called "The Argument Culture," exploring the adversarial nature of American discourse (via Penguin Random House). Of course, that was long before the advent of social media, which has become something of a soapbox for anyone with an opinion — on literally anything. Not that there's anything wrong with exercising the right to express one's opinion, it's just that you have to go in knowing that literally anything you post has the potential to spark debate. Even if it's about something as seemingly mundane as bubbly water. Just ask the Doyenne of Dinner Parties, Keeper of Peacocks, and Friend O' Snoop, Martha Stewart, for whom an Instagram post gushing with what appears to be genuine enthusiasm over her SodaStream sparkling water maker became a lightning rod for debate.

"My daughter Alexis introduced me to @sodastream a couple years ago," Stewart captioned a short video demonstrating how to use the appliance. "I have not purchased bottled water since," she went on, assuring her fans environmental sustainability is a priority. While many offered their symbolic applause through their comments, not everyone was thrilled with the reccomendation.

You don't have to look very far on the internet to come across raging political debates, if that's what you happen to be searching for. Even a seemingly innocuous Instagram post by Martha Stewart — about a soda machine capable of making "big fat bubbles" while reducing plastic waste – managed to spark debate on Middle Eastern political issues.

"Love you girl, save the planet," one user commented, and others appeared to feel the same. But not all of Martha's followers had environmental sustainability on their minds when they saw the product. Some were stunned that Stewart would reccomend SodaStream, an Isreali company that has been the subject of a boycott and was widely criticized for having a factory in the occupied West Bank, according to HuffPost, as well as for having fired Muslim workers after a dispute over not being provided with the proper accommodations during the holiday of Ramadan (via Vice). Some comments on Stewart's post were vague, comprising little more than "Martha, no." Others got straight to the point, with a few using the hashtag freepalestine and one fan commenting, "Oh no, no, no, noooooooooooo! Sodastream is not a nice company. Learn what they did to Palestinians. Catch up Martha!" and providing a link for Stewart to learn more about the boycott. Of course, others were quick to comment on these comments with their opposing views in defense of the brand.