Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel Accused Of Saying 'India Is Too Poor, This App Is For Rich People'
Now, this is a piece of news for Snapchat users in India. Snapchat CEO, Evan Spiegel, feels that you are too poor to use his "rich people's app".
According to a report by Variety, Spiegel allegedly made the comment during a meeting to discuss the growth of the app¡¯s user base in 2015.
TechCrunch
When an employee raised concern about the app¡¯s slow growth in a market like India, which has a growing mobile penetration, Spiegel cut the employee mid-sentence reportedly saying, ¡°This app is only for rich people."
Variety quoted the employee¡¯s revelation about Spiegel's reply: ¡°I don¡¯t want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain.¡±
According to unverified reports, Snapchat had close to 4 million users in India last year. While though the exact user base is not available, this number is expected to have grown since then.
As expected, his comments haven't gone down well with Indians. Many felt 'offended'
TL
¡ª Akash Shah (@PhoenixPhantoms) April 15, 2017
G1: Uninstall Snapchat
G2: Insulted India ?
DM
G2: Sach me? Itne followers wapas nahi aayenge
G1: Ruk abhi wo sorry bol dega fir sab thik
Dear @evanspiegel India is not poor, but your mentality is. Wish you speedy recovery get well soon @Snapchat #BoycottSnapchat pic.twitter.com/4hxr4CV6xo
¡ª Sir Bumraaah! (@Ibleed_sarcasm) April 15, 2017
So Acc to Snapchat CEO My India ?? is a Poor Country. Now Mr Evan Spiegel You will turn into Millionaire from Billionaire #uninstallsnapchat
¡ª Anmol Katiyar ?? (@Anmol_77) April 15, 2017
Okay I'm offended by 'India is a poor country!' by Snapchat's CEO. Now I'll take pictures from Snapchat & upload on my Instagram story.
¡ª Reva ? (@BrushUrTeeth_03) April 15, 2017
*Snapchat's CEO calls India a poor country*
¡ª Soutrik (@SoutrikDebnath) April 15, 2017
Indians: "HOW DARE HE! we are so rich in our culture of misogyny,xenophobia & intolerance"
India, according to Snapchat CEO. pic.twitter.com/ScqMF2QM78
¡ª ? (@AwaraBhanwara) April 15, 2017
UPDATE
Following the controversy and massive outrage online Snapchat said employe who made the claim, Anthony Pompliano was "fired for poor performance," three weeks ago and has been involved in in a lawsuit with the company.
"This is ridiculous. Obviously Snapchat is for everyone! It's available worldwide to download for free," an international spokesperson of Snap said in a statement.
"Those words were written by a disgruntled former employee. We are grateful for our Snapchat community in India and around the world," the statement added.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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