Turkish TV channel fires hostess over Starbucks cup: what happened

The Turkish TV channel TGRT Haber fired news anchor Meltem Günay over an incident that occurred during a broadcast. In the frame, the TV presenter was holding a cup with the logo of the American coffee company Starbucks.

This seemingly innocent thing was the reason for her dismissal. The TV channel's policy prohibits broadcasting hidden advertising, according to an official statement by TGRT Haber on the social network X. The program director was fired along with the host.

In addition, the channel's editors assured that they support the position of the Turkish people regarding the war in Israel. "Our institution understands the sensitivity of the Turkish people regarding Gaza and defends it to the end. It is absolutely impossible to approve any action or publication that contradicts this," TGRT Haber said in a statement.

Instead, in October, the Starbucks Workers United union posted on social media an image of a bulldozer destroying the fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel. The post was accompanied by the caption "Solidarity with Palestine".

After that, Starbucks filed a lawsuit against the union, expressing condolences to the victims of "unacceptable terrorist acts, escalating violence and hatred against innocent people in Israel and the Gaza Strip." As a result, social media users called for a boycott of the well-known coffee shop chain.

Turkish activists even organized pogroms in local establishments of the American company, and the state railway company TCDD refused to sell Starbucks products in restaurant cars.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA told how a pregnant influencer and her husband tragically died in a car accident in the United States: they were on their way to their relatives for Christmas to share the good news.

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