Why is Zomato getting trolled after Swara Bhasker's tweet
Food delivery giant Zomato has landed into a controversy after actress Swara Bhasker asked the company to pull down its ads from Arnab Goswami's news channel Republic TV. She said she felt offended with her money "even indirectly funding this kind of communal bigoted hate." After Zomato replied to her, Arnab's supporters targeted Zomato and called for its boycott. Here is more on this.
'Pull your ads from hate espousing channels like Republic'
Advising Zomato to pull down its ads from the news channel, Swara tweeted, "Hey Zomato, I am your regular customer... Do u plan to #DefundTheHate and pull your ads from hate espousing channels like Republic Bharat?" To this, Zomato replied, "Hi Swara, please note, we do not endorse any content except our own. That being said, we are looking into this."
Here's what Swara wrote on Twitter
'You choose Swara, we choose Swiggy,' said users
However, Swara's tweet did not sit well with Arnab's supporters, who said they would boycott Zomato, if the company decided to pull down its ads from his channel. A user wrote, "Us nationalists who watch Republic TV are more than the handful this Swara Bhasker leads (sic)." "You choose Swara, we choose Swiggy," said another, referring to another popular food ordering platform.
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri also slammed Swara for her tweet
Not only Republic TV viewers, some members of the film industry, including filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, also slammed Swara over her tweet. He said, "Hey Zomato, this is your big moment...This is your big test...Decide who is your customer base...These Chinese Urban Naxals or real Indians. Come on, your time starts now. We, Indians, are watching. All those who are watching, raise your hand (sic)."
Here is his tweet
Earlier, Bajaj Auto and Parle blacklisted news channels
To recall, amid the television rating point or TRP scam, which brought many media houses under the radar, brands like Parle and Bajaj Auto had blacklisted certain news channels for allegedly spreading hatred. The companies decided not to advertise their products on the channels that supported "toxic content." For the unversed, the Mumbai Police named three media companies, including Republic TV, under the scam.
Arnab's channel involved in a number of legal battles
Republic TV has been involved in a number of legal disputes lately. Last month, many leading Bollywood production companies sued Republic TV and Arnab for running a hate campaign against the Hindi film industry. Arnab was also recently arrested for his involvement in a 2018 suicide case. He has since been granted bail by the Supreme Court.
