Latest News

NTUC FairPrice Calls Out Instagrammer For Fake Bat Meat Photo, Says Act Of Mischief Is Insensitive

NTUC FairPrice Calls Out Singapore Instagrammer For “Fresh Bat Meat” Photo

As the novel coronavirus continues to trend worldwide, social media pages have leveraged on the occasions and posted memes relating to the outbreak.

Here’s one, from the folks over at Wake Up, Singapore:

Source

While most sparked raucous laughter from netizens, one Singapore Instagrammer got a generous share of flak for a ‘fake’ bat meat photo he shared on Thursday (6 Feb).

Here’s more on what we know about the incident.

Edited photo shows dead bat packaged in a styrofoam box

The edited photo shows what appears to be a dead bat packaged in a styrofoam box, similar to those found in the frozen section of supermarkets.

It’s also clearly labelled “Fresh Bat Meat”, with the NTUC FairPrice logo prominently shown at the top.

It even has the iconic Pasar logo – synonymous with fresh produces sold in NTUC – printed on the label.

Image was screenshotted from Instagram before being removed

 

The edited photo also came with a brief description that explains why bats come into a multitude of viruses during the lifetimes, and how it is possibly linked to the Wuhan coronavirus.

There’s a “healthier choice” symbol printed on the label as well.

This is ironic since some believe that bat meat soup consumed in China was the cause of the coronavirus, although it has not been proven.

NTUC FairPrice’s calls bat meat photo “especially insensitive”

Within hours, NTUC FairPrice took to Facebook, criticising the doctored image and calling it “especially insensitive”.

Source

It’s understandable that NTUC FairPrice wasn’t pleased about the jarring images, given how they were involuntarily involved in the edited image.

After all, the pictures are incredibly life-like and have NTUC Fairprice’s logo emblazoning the packet.

Some people were probably confused as to whether the images were real or edited, pushing NTUC to clarify that they were not on Facebook.

Good intentions were not communicated effectively

The Instagram post has since been taken down by the original poster.

Although the images contain educational value and could have been created with good intentions, they shocked many and definitely caused unrest among NTUC’s consumers.

If the images weren’t so shocking, we think they could’ve done some good in clearing up misunderstandings about bats and the coronavirus.

Kudos to the creator’s digital art skills, though — it’s not easy to make something look so life-like.

Next time he attempts something like this, perhaps it would be wiser to not implicate a legitmate brand in Singapore.

Featured image adapted from screenshots taken from Instagram. 

Lucia Ng

Lucia only ever eats noodles and lives off bubble tea and coffee. She has no chill, ever, and loves sitcoms a little too much.

Recent Posts

Continuous heavy traffic expected at S’pore-JB checkpoints till end of 2024: ICA

A record of more than 553,000 travellers crossed both checkpoints on 13 Dec.

22 Dec 2024, 7:25 pm

H5N1 poses ‘highest risk’ of becoming next pandemic, S’pore health authorities monitoring situation

There has been no year-end Covid-19 wave, as had been expected.

22 Dec 2024, 6:42 pm

Wagyu beef worth S$5,700 found in car entering JB from S’pore, M’sian driver arrested

The beef was imported without a veterinary health certificate and halal certification.

22 Dec 2024, 5:40 pm

Long queue forms at Jalan Besar Stadium for tickets to ASEAN Championship semi-final

One fan started queueing as early as 7am.

22 Dec 2024, 4:50 pm

Toys“R”Us in Japan sends parcels in plain boxes before Christmas, praised for protecting ‘Santa’s surprise’

The company made the change after parents said they wanted to make sure their gifts…

22 Dec 2024, 4:36 pm

Google Maps helps Spanish police arrest murder suspects caught transporting corpse on Street View

An incredible twist of fortune for the police -- and a stroke of bad luck…

22 Dec 2024, 2:59 pm