At least two international brands in Singapore are facing online vitriol for their supposed roles in the Israel-Palestine conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The online attack began about a week ago for Starbucks Singapore, when a Facebook user urged customers to "Save Palestine" by not going to Starbucks.
More comments poured in on Starbucks' latest post, to which the marketing team responded, saying it was "absolutely untrue" that the company had "any associations with the war going on in the Middle East".
Starbucks has also published a Q&A style statement titled "Facts about Starbucks in the Middle East", in which the Seattle-based coffee house chain describes rumours that it provides financial support to the Israeli government and army as "unequivocally false". "Starbucks is a publicly held company and as such, is required to disclose any corporate giving each year through a proxy statement."
Another chain that has come under fire from the local community is McDonald's.
Two comments accusing the fast food chain of funding Israel and the Hamas terrorist group were uploaded on a Jul. 15 Facebook post, prompting the team to write back to clarify that McDonald's does not in fact "channel any sales or profits" from their restaurants to "support any political causes, nor terrorism or oppression in any part of the world".
Starbucks and McDonald's are not the only international brands that have been targeted, but the attacks on them have been the most visible, thanks to their strong social media presence. Lists being circulated on Facebook accuse more brands — like Coca-Cola and Nestle — of being a part of the "apartheid Israel" and encourage the community at large to boycott them.
The incidents come at the crux of Singaporeans' growing interest in the violence happening in Gaza.
A few days ago, Foreign & Home Affairs Minister Masagos Zulkifli said that while people here, especially the Muslims, are saddened over the destruction and lives lost in the conflict, they should not act irrationally. Instead, Masagos encouraged the community to offer prayers for peace and financial aid via accredited institutions such as the Red Cross.
They can begin donating via physical collection boxes and online from tomorrow, as Singapore's mosques launch a fundraising drive to send humanitarian aid to victims of the shelling in Gaza.
Photo: Starbucks Singapore
At least two international brands in Singapore are facing online vitriol for their supposed roles in the Israel-Palestine conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The online attack began about a week ago for Starbucks Singapore, when a Facebook user urged customers to "Save Palestine" by not going to Starbucks.
More comments poured in on Starbucks' latest post, to which the marketing team responded, saying it was "absolutely untrue" that the company had "any associations with the war going on in the Middle East".
Starbucks has also published a Q&A style statement titled "Facts about Starbucks in the Middle East", in which the Seattle-based coffee house chain describes rumours that it provides financial support to the Israeli government and army as "unequivocally false". "Starbucks is a publicly held company and as such, is required to disclose any corporate giving each year through a proxy statement."
Another chain that has come under fire from the local community is McDonald's.
Two comments accusing the fast food chain of funding Israel and the Hamas terrorist group were uploaded on a Jul. 15 Facebook post, prompting the team to write back to clarify that McDonald's does not in fact "channel any sales or profits" from their restaurants to "support any political causes, nor terrorism or oppression in any part of the world".
Starbucks and McDonald's are not the only international brands that have been targeted, but the attacks on them have been the most visible, thanks to their strong social media presence. Lists being circulated on Facebook accuse more brands — like Coca-Cola and Nestle — of being a part of the "apartheid Israel" and encourage the community at large to boycott them.
The incidents come at the crux of Singaporeans' growing interest in the violence happening in Gaza.
A few days ago, Foreign & Home Affairs Minister Masagos Zulkifli said that while people here, especially the Muslims, are saddened over the destruction and lives lost in the conflict, they should not act irrationally. Instead, Masagos encouraged the community to offer prayers for peace and financial aid via accredited institutions such as the Red Cross.
They can begin donating via physical collection boxes and online from tomorrow, as Singapore's mosques launch a fundraising drive to send humanitarian aid to victims of the shelling in Gaza.
Photo: Starbucks Singapore