Snapchat denies CEO’s “poor India” comment, but #boycottSnapchat trends online

Although Snapchat denied CEO Evan Spiegel’s “poor India” comment, Twitterati continued to slam him and called for a ban on the app.

Although Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snapchat, has denied saying that he didn’t want to expand into “poor countries like India and Spain”, his app was the talking point on social media for all the wrong reasons. In India, #BoycottSnapchat and #UninstallSnapchat trended on social media after an interview of his company’s ex-employee, Anthony Pompliano, appeared in Variety Magazine, in which he said that Spiegel had told him: I don’t want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain.

Pompliano, who was fired by Snapchat, claimed that Spiegel told him this during a meeting in 2015. However, the response from Snap.inc (the parent company of short video-clips-based social media platform) was, “This is ridiculous. Obviously Snapchat is for everyone! It’s available worldwide to download for free.”

However, Twitterati continued taking digs at Spiegel without knowing the whole story behind it. “Your great companies work because of Indian’s brains. And yet we’re poor. What according to you defines “POOR” #boycottsnapchat (sic),” tweeted @spartan8188. @arvindstar_wrote, “Dear “Rich” @Snapchat, Good Bye from my “Poor” mobile. I love my country more than this app. #boycottsnapchat.”

“#boycottsnapchat Calling India poor was fine, but by calling Spain poor Snapchat CEO has ruined honeymoon plans of many Indians,” tweeted @Celesstrikes.

An online petition, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and cyber cell of India has been started on change.org, asking for a ban on the app in India.