Global brands face Twitter backlash over posts on Kashmir

Photo for representational purpose. Pic/ istock

Apart from Hyundai, global brands like Kia, KFC, Dominos and Pizza Hut faced social media backlash on Tuesday for their tweets on Kashmir.

In a social media post, a verified account of KFC had supported the separatists in Kashmir. They later apologized for the tweet and posted, "We deeply apologise for a post that was published on some KFC social media channels outside the country. We honour and respect India, and remain steadfast in our commitment to serving all Indians with pride."

In a tweet, which was later taken down, the official handle of Domino's Pakistan had posted, "We wish freedom for our brothers and sisters in Kashmir and pray for their eternal peace."

A tweet by the Twitter handle of @KiaCrossroads also spoke about "freedom of Kashmir". The tweet was later taken down.

However, by then, hashtags such as #BoycottKiaMotors, #BoycottKFC, #HyundaiWithTerrorist, #HyundaiMustApologise, #BoycottDominos had started trending on Twitter.

The incident follows the backlash that Hyundai Motors faced on Sunday on social media after a dealer in Pakistan posted a message supporting separatists in Kashmir.

They later came up with a statement which read, "Hyundai Motor India has been committed to the Indian market for more than 25 years now and we stand firmly for our strong ethos of respecting nationalism. The unsolicited social media post linking Hyundai Motor India is offending our unparalleled commitment and service to this great country. India is second home to the Hyundai brand and we have zero tolerance policy towards insensitive communication and we strongly condemn any such view. As part of our commitment to India, we will continue our efforts towards the betterment of the country as well as its citizens."

However, the apology didn't suffice for many politicians in India. Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP and former Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi tagged the statement issued by Hyundai India and said that the company should have been direct in its apology over the issue. "Hi Hyundai. So many wishy-washy words not needed. All you need to say is - we are unequivocally sorry. Rest is all unnecessary."

BJP's foreign affairs department in-charge Vijay Chauthaiwale also said that Hyundai's global communications should object to the anti-India rhetoric. "@HyundaiIndia, this is not sufficient. You must explain if you endorse statements of @PakistanHyundai? What's your global stand on such anti-India rhetoric? @Hyundai_Global," he tweeted.