On 18 November, actor Swara Bhasker pulled up Zomato for putting up their ads on 'hate espousing channels' like Republic Bharat.
Swara tweeted, "Hey @zomatoin @zomato @deepigoyal I’m your regular customer.. do u plan to #DefundTheHate & pull your ads from hate espousing channels like @Republic_Bharat ? I’m not okay with my money even indirectly funding this kind of communal bigoted hate! Pls let your consumers know..”
Here's the original tweet calling out Zomato for endorsing "hate speech" by advertising on Republic Bharat.
The tweet reads, "@zomato @deepigoyal people offered money to @feedingindia because they believed in it. Can we also assume that you believe and endorse this hate speech because you a dvertise in hateful @Republic_Bharat channel? If we are wrong, pull down your ads today! #DefundtheHateZomato"
Eventually, Zomato Care on Twitter reached out to Swara with a clarification. They tweeted, "Hi Swara, please note, we don’t endorse any content except our own. That being said, we are looking into this."
Over a month ago, brands like Parle and Bajaj had blacklisted certain television channels when it came to advertising their products. These decisions came in light of the fake TRP scam involving Republic TV. The brands claimed that they did not want to be associated with platforms that promoted toxic content.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)