The American-owned fast food chain KFC has begun legal proceedings against a handful of Chinese companies, alleging that they deliberately circulated damaging, defamatory and false rumours on social media which questioned the quality and provenance of KFC’s food sources.
The lawsuit has been filed in Shanghai, and KFC lawyers are pursuing around $242,000 in compensation, full retraction of the rumours and a formal public apology.
The rumours were alleged to have been posted online via the WeChat application, a mobile messaging communication service, which is one of the largest and most widely used standalone messaging apps in China with 438 million users.
One of the malicious rumours sensationally claimed the KFC food supply incorporated bio–engineered Prometheus style chickens, which had been genetically modified to grow eight legs and six wings.
In a statement, KFC said these rumours had been viewed, shared and spread through at least 4,000 posts, misleading consumers on a large scale and in the process severely tarnishing the brand’s image and reputation.
The Chinese firms involved were named by KFC lawyers as Shanxi Weilukuang Technology Company Ltd, Taiyuan Zero Point Technology Company and Yingchenanzhi Success and Culture Communication Ltd.
KFC has nearly 5,000 stores in China at present, and has been aggressively expanding it’s market share in the country.
KFC has evolved its menu to cater for Chinese tastes, offering items such as the Dragon Twister, a wrap composed of fried chicken salad and duck sauce.
All of the accused have declined to comment.
