KFC blames its bot for promoting its cheese-covered chicken on Kristallnachto

Fast food chain KFC sent out a message encouraging customers in Germany to "treat themselves" to restaurant food to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the anti-Semitic attack coordinated by the Nazi Party, which many called the Holocaust. it is said. Consider the beginning.

Customers in Germany were horrified to receive push notifications from fast food restaurants yesterday on the anniversary of the 1938 attacks, when the Nazis destroyed thousands of Jewish homes, businesses and schools, killed dozens and deported 30,000. for concentration camps.

The KFC promotion read, "It's Memorial Day for [Krystalnacht]! Treat your crunchy chicken to more tender cheese. Now at KFCE's!"

A second notification came an hour later, according to the BBC, with a promise to "immediately investigate [KFC's] internal process" for the Kristallnacht promotion with an apology.

In a statement to Newsweek, KFC blamed the early offensive warning on a "semi-automated content creation process" tied to national holidays and observance calendars.

“In this instance, our internal review process was not followed properly, resulting in a declined notification being shared,” the company told Newsweek, adding that it had ceased app communication and ensured Will review the procedures to make sure this doesn't happen again. , KFC did not immediately respond on-the-record to questions sent by The Verge.

On Wednesday, new images of the violent attacks were released to mark the 84th anniversary of Kristalnacht. Although KFC says its promotion was an accident, it raises the question of why brands think we want to hear from them every holiday or anniversary.