Nothing Phone (1): Why #DearNothing, #BoycottNothing trending on Twitter; Why South Indian people are sad
Nothing Phone (1)
Hours after London-based startup Nothing launched its phone (1), the hashtag '#DearNothing' quickly started trending in India. Unrelated to the smartphone's sale, launch event or specifications, the hashtag received a massive inrush from the South Indian tech community, mocking and criticizing former OnePlus founder Carl Pei's new company.
But what triggered the #DearNothing hashtag just on the device's launch? And why exactly are fans angry at the company, at least on Twitter? All you need to know about what happened.
DearNothing: What went wrong?
#DearNothing began to spread after the popular YouTube channel 'Prasadtechintelugu' posted a new video on the night of the phone's launch event (1). The video, intended as a joke, showed the creator unboxing a fake Nothing phone (1) box on the screen, which turned out to be an empty box with a letter inside.
The letter, also fake, reads, "Hello Prasad, this device is not for the people of South India. Thanks," complete with a font that attempts to resemble the dotted font used in promotional material for Nothing. The creator made the video to protest the lack of Nothing phone (1) review units provided to regional content creators in India. Remember that sending review units is the exclusive prerogative of a company.
However, things quickly went out of control when the screenshot of the fake letter the creator unpacked began to circulate on Twitter, where a crowd of people, including tech enthusiasts waiting for the Nothing phone (1), mistook the gesture for official communication from the brand itself.
The hashtag #DearNothing quickly started trending on Twitter, with hundreds of Indian users criticizing Nothing via tweets for a letter the company never wrote. The misinformation began to take a nasty turn on the platform when users began accusing the London-based company of favouring Hindi creators over regional ones.
Nada has not officially responded to the incident yet. We have contacted them to request a statement. Many users are still unaware that the letter is fake and that Nothing has made derogatory comments directed at any community in India.