KFC bot urges Germans to mark Kristallnacht with cheesy chicken
- Reference: 1668175773
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/11/11/kfc_bot_germany/
- Source link:
Kristallnacht was a pogrom carried out against Jewish Germans on the night of November 9, 1938, by Nazis. It takes its name from the shards of glass found in streets the next day that had been smashed out of windows in synagogues, Jewish businesses and other buildings owned by German Jews.
More than 90 people were killed in the attacks, which are often considered the beginning of the Holocaust.
[1]
Decidedly out of tone for such a somber day, the chicken chain said Wednesday: "Gedenktag an die Reichspogromnacht. Gönn dir ruhig mehr zarten cheese zum knusprigen chicken. Jetzt bei KFCheese!" ("It's memorial day for Kristallnacht. Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!"
[2]
[3]
German tabloid Bild, which shared screenshots of the offending push notification ( [4]in German ), said that KFC apologized soon after with a second push notification that blamed an error in its system.
[5]Microsoft says the internet is the nicest it's been since 2016. Obviously they didn't look at The Reg comments
[6]What could go wrong? Redmond researchers release a blabbering bot trained on Reddit chats
[7]Hacked Fast Company sends 'obscene and racist' alerts via Apple News
[8]Appeals court already under fire for upholding Texas no-content-moderation law
According to [9]screenshots of KFC's apology shared on Twitter (automatically translated), the German arm of the US company apologized, saying it would check its internal processes to ensure the accident never happened again.
Daniel Sugarman, director of public affairs for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, shared the image of the apology, calling the affair "absolutely hideous."
KFC responded to questions from Newsweek about the incident, [10]saying it uses a semi-automated system to link calendars with days marked on the national calendar (npt all of which can properly be described as holidays) to its content creation process. This time, KFC said, its internal review process wasn't followed, resulting in the offensive notification.
[11]
"We have suspended app communications while we examine our current process to ensure such an issue does not occur again. We understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for all," KFC said. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y25-qmM5HuWnA6nUz2xWKgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y25-qmM5HuWnA6nUz2xWKgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y25-qmM5HuWnA6nUz2xWKgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://m.bild.de/geld/wirtschaft/wirtschaft/zum-pogromnacht-gedenken-kfc-verschickt-versehentlich-geschmacklos-push-81890356.bildMobile.html
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/08/microsoft_online_civility/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2019/11/07/microsoft_pg13_chatbot/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/28/fast_company_hack_apple_news/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/16/texas_social_media_law_appeal/
[9] https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1590368559150297089
[10] https://www.newsweek.com/kfc-urges-customers-eat-chicken-remember-nazi-kristallnacht-1758376
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y25-qmM5HuWnA6nUz2xWKgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Not a holiday.. A day of comemmoration.
Does the UK have similar for colonialism?
Yep, second Monday in March: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Day
11/11
the 11/11 is kind of special in Germany... many think it's the Stasi's final revenge that when they had to give up and open the border they did it on a day that was not going to be a future national holiday - because of the Kristallnacht.
Carnival fans in wide stretches of the catholic bits of western Germany have 11/11 as the start of the "silly season" (that goes on until after easter!)
And of course it's also "remembrance day", it was called "Heldengedenktag" (Hero's Remembrance Day) under the Nazis and these days not many f's given in the general population unlike here in UK.
Imagine, KFC USA just could not imagine a nation having a day of commemoration for something bad that said nation had done.
..Although there is of course Columbus day... https://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day
Memorial Day? I'm not that familiar with US holidays, but it seems to be a bit like Remembrance Day in the UK, which is today (and Sunday), and something which many people observe but certainly don't celebrate.
Also 9/11 is something that they observe in the US, but certainly don't celebrate.
A day of mourning your own lost ones is somewhat different from a day of mourning the ones you killed.
Or have I misunderstood Remembrance day?
Remembrance Day for me is commemorate anyone from both sides that gave their lives. I give thanks to the British men and women who were lost ensuring I have the freedoms I enjoy today. My father was only 6 months old when his Dad, an ARP Warden, was killed by a bomb strike in the East End. Hodges in Dad's Army is made to be a figure of fun for trying to do the right thing, ARP wardens gave their lives to keep civilians safe, my grandad was one of them.
I also spare a thought for a lot of Germans who were killed without the full knowledge of what they had supported, there were also a lot who later regretted what they had supported when the full horror emerged and many that lived out the rest of their days with horrendous amounts of regret vowing never to let it happen again.
Nike did something similar several years ago
Nike released a trainer called the "Black and Tan" to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in 2012.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/nike-sorry-over-black-and-tan-shoe-1.704563
I'm sure one of our Irish readers can explain just how inappropriate that was.
Re: Nike did something similar several years ago
And let's not forget McDonald's and their Sundae Bloody Sundae
Re: Nike did something similar several years ago
Or Subway with their Lusitania Wrap?
Imagine, KFC USA just could not imagine a nation having a day of commemoration for something bad that said nation had done.
Let's see what they spew on or around January 6th....
Brainless automation
That's what you get from automating away everything and everyone.
Computers and algorithms don't do context.
if (day_marked_as_special_in_calendar(today()))
{
send_message("Celebrate "+get_calender_entry(today())+" with us");
}
Lazy coders
Let me guess:
// This program was automatically generated for your convenience by CoPilot on GitHub.
void main()
{
....
}
A double insult
Actually this was a real whoopee of an insult, as chicken and cheese is not kosher because poultry and dairy produce should not be mixed.
it uses a semi-automated system to link calendars with national holidays to its content creation process
Seems to imply that Kristallnacht (or, as in the message, the even more explicit "Reichspogromnacht") is a national holiday in Germany. Do they have holidays to commemorate all their appalling actions?