Pepsi Did Not Recently Change its Packaging to Avoid the BDS Movement
The Claim
Pepsi Recently Changed its Packaging to Avoid the BDS Movement.
News posted on
Emerging story
Amidst the ongoing war on Gaza, viral images have emerged on social media of Pepsi products with designs reflecting Palestine heritage. The images are being shared with the claim that the "Israeli Pepsi company" has altered its packaging in a show of support for Palestine, possibly in an attempt to prevent a boycott due to the war.
The claims have been circulating along with popular calls on social media to boycott European and American products that support Israel due its violations in the Gaza Strip.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating video and found the claim to be misleading.
Pepsi Featured the Palestinian Heritage Before Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
Misbar's team conducted reverse image search to ascertain the fact of the viral post and found that the Pepsi product featuring packaging inspired by Palestinian heritage has been circulating on the internet since August 2023, which predates the recent war. This indicates that the introduction of the Pepsi package with Palestinian heritage designs did not occur after the recent war with the intention of avoiding a boycott.
Also we found that Mada News published a news article on August 14, 2023, regarding the "Take the Pepsi Taste Challenge" campaign, which featured the viral photograph.
The report included a statement from Mr. Hatem Al-Omari, the General Manager of the Modern Soft Drink Bottling Group "Pepsi". He confirmed that the company's management, with the recent introduction of their new product design, aimed to express gratitude to Palestinian citizens who participated in the Pepsi Taste Challenge campaign.
The report further stated that 58% of those who took part in the challenge chose Pepsi, which they viewed as an endorsement of the overall quality and taste of the beverage.
Ongoing Israeli Aggression in Gaza: Urgent Call for Humanitarian Aid
The continuous Israeli aggression on Gaza for the past month has resulted in the loss of over 9,700 lives, including 4,800 children, and more than 150 medical personnel, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Providing a safe passage for aid, medicine, and fuel to hospitals has become a matter of life or death for the wounded inside medical facilities, especially with deliberate Israeli airstrikes targeting hospitals and ambulances. Arab and international entities have called for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow relief convoys and humanitarian assistance to enter the region.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has renewed the call for an urgent ceasefire for the same purpose. With the crisis escalating rapidly, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lynn Hastings, stated that the Qatari Humanitarian Action Team will launch an immediate humanitarian appeal to address the urgent needs of Palestinians.
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