Three technology companies that allowed rumors about KFC to be posted on their WeChat accounts have been ordered to pay a combined 600,000 yuan ($91,250) in compensation to the fast food company, a local court ruled yesterday.
The firms — Guangdong-based Yingchenanzhi Success and Culture Communication, and Shanxi-based Taiyuan Zero Point Technology Co and Shanxi Weilukuang Technology Co — were all found to have "damaged KFC's reputation" and "caused it economic losses" by turning a blind eye to comments posted on 10 of their accounts, the Shanghai Xuhui District People's Court said.
The companies were also ordered to issue apologies on high-profile websites, including Sina, Tencent and Sohu.
In its lawsuit filed in June last year KFC, which has its Chinese headquarters in Shanghai, sought 3.5 million yuan in compensation and a public apology. It said it resorted to legal action after identifying more than 4,000 defamatory messages across the 10 WeChat accounts, which were viewed an estimated 100,000 times.
One of the rumors was made by an anonymous poster who claimed that on a visit to the United States he saw a poultry farm operated by KFC that bred chickens with six wings and eight legs.
In court, the fast food giant said its chickens are sourced from reputable farms across China, all of which meet national food safety standards.
The defendants appealed for leniency on the grounds that they had not originated any of the spurious comments and had removed them after discovering they were not truthful.
The court, however, said they were deliberately slow to act as the rumors had helped to raise their profiles.
"The 10 WeChat accounts did not repost the articles criticizing KFC in the interests of public, but rather to attract more attention on themselves and increase their popularity," said Judge Wang Jiajun.
