Boycott Calls Hurting Business Sentiments: McDonald's CEO

McDonald’s, the fast-food restaurant franchise was listed among the top businesses that have links to Israel, for which it has faced boycott campaigns, along with Starbucks and fashion brands like Zara and Puma. President and CEO of the McDonalds, Chris Kempczinski said that “misinformation” about the company’s position in the ongoing bloody war between Israel and Hamas has hurt their business sentiments in the Middle East and in Muslim countries worldwide.

He said, “several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s”. The US based fast-food giant CEO said that he found the new development “disheartening and ill-founded”. He did not specify the extent of the financial loss the company has suffered as a result of the boycott calls.

Last month, McDonald’s Malaysia went to court suing the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement for hurting their business sentiments with “false and defamatory statement”, and said that the boycott calls has cost them $1.3 million.

Days after the Israel-Hamas war started, McDonald’s in Lebanon was ransacked by the protesters. The mass protest and boycott calls against McDonald’s came after the franchise’s outlet in Israel allegedly delivered free meals to the occupation force who are part of the genocidal war in Gaza.

Apart from McDonald’s, another company that faced huge loss over the boycott calls in relation with their stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war was Starbucks. The Seattle-based coffee chain CEO, Laxman Narasimhan said that the boycott calls have been “influenced by misrepresentation on social media”.

Fashion Giant Zara also faced backlashes after it released a campaign which resembled the Gaza genocide. The campaign highlighting the versatility of its new edition resulted in spread of outrage among public, especially online. Later, the brand took off the images from the front page of its website.