(ECNS) - Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is asking for 3.5 million yuan ($564,000) in compensation as it sues 10 WeChat accounts suspected of spreading rumors slandering KFC's food standards.
This is the first legal case in China where a food provider has gone after Internet rumors. Three Chinese companies operating the WeChat accounts are defendants.
One of the most well circulated rumors was that KFC produced food from "weird chickens with six wings and eight legs."
The rumor has been spread for many years, finding its way onto almost every possible social media platform, from early emails and bulletin boards to the more recent microblogging site Weibo and social networking app WeChat, says Qu Cuirong, CEO of KFC China.
"The latest rumor outbreak happened in the first half of 2015, and complaints from consumers have been combined with the rumor of deformed chickens. Accompanied by sensational titles and obviously Photoshopped pictures, the rumor has gotten published by WeChat accounts and then shared multiple times," says Qu.
Over 4,000 publications on WeChat relating to the rumor were found by April, among which over 130 articles had received more than 100,000 clicks.
Two of the three defendant companies come from Shanxi, while the other is located in Shenzhen.
KFC is asking for compensation of up to 1.5 million yuan from each defendant, in addition to requests for immediate cease of harm and formal apologies. According to Qu, KFC will continue to crack down on rumors after these cases.
