Why is Pizza Hut being boycotted? Israeli soldiers controversy explored amid social media outrage 

Pizza Hut has become the latest target of a boycott campaign over Israel's genocidal military offensive in the Gaza Strip that began after the deadly Hamas attack on the Jewish nation on October 7, 2023.

Social media users have urged people to boycott Pizza Hut after the Western fast-food chain’s Israeli franchise provided free meals to Israeli military bases. On Friday, January 19, 2024, Pizza Hut’s Israel Franchise took to Instagram and posted a picture of two Israeli soldiers posing with several free pizza meals.

The post infuriated social media users, who took to comments and urged people to boycott the pizza chain accused of taking a pro-Israel stance in the ongoing war.

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Netizens react to Pizza Hut boycott calls

Recently, Pizza Hut became the latest target of boycott calls after the fast-food chain’s Israeli franchises provided free meals to Israeli soldiers. The food chain's decision to feed soldiers was perceived as the brand taking a pro-Israeli stance in the divisive Israel-Hamas war. As calls to boycott the international food chain intensified, #BoycottPizzaHut began to trend online.

While several netizens appeared outraged at the food chain distributing meals to soldiers, others found fun in people’s anger over what they considered inconsequential issues. A social media user, Christopher Benton, quipped Pepto Bismol and Imodium should also be canceled as the soldiers would be in dire need of the anti-acid medications given the greasiness of the pizza.

“If Pizza Hut is providing free pizzas to the military, we need Pepto Bismol and Immodium to step up and donate too, lord knows those soldiers will need it after they eat that greasy pizza.”

The recent boycott calls come amid multiple brands, including Starbucks, McDonald's, KFC, and Zara, drawing scrutiny over how they've responded to Israel's offensive attack on the Gaza strip that has claimed over 20,000 Palestinian lives.

In October 2023, patrons threatened to boycott Starbucks over its criticism of the workers union's tweet expressing solidarity with Palestinians. In November 2023, Marks and Spencer courted criticism over a Christmas advert that showed paper hats in the colors of the Palestinian flag burning in a fireplace.

Last month, Spanish retailer Zara was slammed after a recent advertising campaign featuring bodies and statues with missing limbs surrounded by rubble appeared eerily reminiscent of the destruction in Gaza amid the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict.

Pizza Hut is not the only multinational fast food chain facing backlash amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. A week after the war broke out, McDonald's Israel unit announced free meals for Israeli forces in the wake of the conflict. The fast-food giant, on October 19, posted on X,

"Since the outbreak of the war, McDonald's Israel has donated over one hundred thousand meals to the security forces, the residents of the Otaf and the hospitals, when 5 of the chain's restaurants were opened for this purpose only. In addition, McDonald's Israel gives a 50 per cent discount to all security and rescue forces that arrive independently at the branches.”

Shortly after, people took to social media and urged consumers to boycott McDonald's. As the business took a hit, the franchise's United Kingdom unit, in a post on social media platform X this month, denied its support for "any governments involved in the Middle East crisis."

However, despite the mocking, some social media users continued to criticize the fast food giant for serving meals to Israeli soldiers amid the conflict. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut has yet to respond to the online criticism.