An image of Coca-Cola bottles which read ‘Kisan Ekta’ and ‘Support Farmers’ as part of their ‘Share A Coke’ campaign has gone viral on social media with the false claim that the company came out with the bottles in support of ongoing farmers’ protests.
CLAIM
The image was shared with the claim in Punjabi, “Modi Bhakts World Label Company Coca-Cola also came out in favour of the farmers. Now don't say that the makers of Coca-Cola are also terrorists.”
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
In an email to The Quint’s WebQoof team, Coca-Cola India confirmed that the company had not come out with bottles that say ‘Kisan Ekta’ or ‘Support Farmers.’
“We wish to clarify that The Coca-Cola Company has not launched any such brand campaign. The image in circulation is a gross misrepresentation of our brand and misuse of its identity,” the statement reads.
Further, we found no news reports regarding the launch of any Coca-Cola bottles in support of the protesting farmers.
The ‘Share A Coke’ campaign was started in India by the brand in April 2018. The company had announced then that Coke cans and bottles would be available with 20 special relationships printed on them, including ‘Bae, Bro, Dude, BFF, Dad, Mom and Daughter.’
Evidently, the image is being circulated with a false claim that Coca-Cola has come out with bottles in support of the protesting farmers.
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