Facebook Forced To Block 20,000 Posts About Snack Food Conspiracy After PepsiCo Sues, Says Report (gizmodo.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: There is a rumor that Kurkure, a corn puff product developed by [Pepsico] in India, is made of plastic. The conspiracy theory naturally thrived online, where people posted mocking videos and posts questioning whether the snack contained plastic. In response, PepsiCo obtained an interim order from the Delhi High Court to block all references to this conspiracy theory online in the country, MediaNama reports. Hundreds of posts claiming that Kurkure contains plastic have already been blocked across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, according to LiveMint, and the court order requires social networks to continue to block such posts. According to MediaNama, PepsiCo petitioned for 3412 Facebook links, 20244 Facebook posts, 242 YouTube videos, six Instagram links, and 562 tweets to be removed, a request the court has granted. PepsiCo's argument is that these rumors are untrue and defame the brand -- though it's evident that a number of the posts are satirical in tone, poking fun at the rumor rather than earnestly trying to spread misinformation.

Comments

The less processed food eaten, the better

[beerlord1]

For all its many faults, India at least has great food, much of it vegetarian. Why would you eat processed corn crap when you have so much else available?

Re:The less processed food eaten, the better

[Anonymous Coward]

For all its many faults, India at least has great food, much of it vegetarian. Why would you eat processed corn crap when you have so much else available?

It's cheap and it tastes good – for some definition of tastes and good – because it's laden with sugar and salt. Just like the crappy snack "food" we have here.

You think India doesn't have its share of KFC, Dominos, Krispy Kreme, McDonalds, etc.? Guess again. And yeah, you want a hamburger? You can get one. shhhh, it's water buffalo, don't tell anyone. For that matter it might be beef too. What do you think happens to the cows that die? The Hindus who do eat meat generally won't eat it, but the Christians (28 million of them) and the Muslims (180 million) who aren't vegetarian probably will.)

As someone who has been to India on business many times, I can assure you that Indians aren't any different than we are when it comes to making bad food choices.

Oh yeah, WRT "its many faults", people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

The More Things Change ....

[wisnoskij]

We used to not be able to say things against kings and barons. Now we cannot say things against corporations or Jews.

Why would it matter?

[SuperKendall]

Half of the fast food I've enjoyed over the years (like twinkles) I just assumed was part or all plastic. Whatever. I say! It just passes through then, so I can't see why a rumor like that would matter. or have any effect beyond slightly increasing sales (see: Tide Pods).