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According to this November 10, 2022 article titled “KFC apologises for Kristallnacht chicken and cheese promotion” in The Guardian (U.K.) newspaper:

“KFC has apologised for a push notification sent out via its app inviting German customers to celebrate the anniversary of the Nazi Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews by ordering fried chicken and cheese.”

The message reportedly said:

“Commemorate Kristallnacht – treat yourself to more soft cheese and crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”

The article itself seems to not cite any sources other than, “The tabloid Bild…” which seems to reference this article in said tabloid which then links to this post on Twitter that makes reference to the supposed original message and apology; pictured below. But there are no other sources it seems.

Screenshot of the supposed KFC message and apology.

And a Google search seems to only return results from other publications citing The Guardian article.

Did KFC actually send out a message to customers promoting fast food discounts on Kristallnacht in Germany? Are there any other sources that can confirm this?

Screenshot below for reference.

Screenshot of the Guardian (U.K.) article cited above.

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    It should be noted that in Germany itself, the "Reichskristallnacht" was renamed to "Reichspogromnacht", because Kristall - Crystal - will generally evoke positive emotions, and we don't want people who see the word but don't know about the history to think something nice must have happened.
    – Guntram Blohm
    Nov 11, 2022 at 8:29
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    A spa in Germany did something similar, but worse IMO, (since humans were involved): jpost.com/international/…
    – B. Goddard
    Nov 12, 2022 at 12:13
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    Would „I got one“ count? I
    – Stephie
    Nov 12, 2022 at 14:22
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    @Oddthinking trying to get the hang of the specifics of the site, so thanks for the feedback. Of course there already is a good answer, so adding one would be somewhat superfluous, but if there were none - is a screenshot I made myself evidence? As in does my word claiming that I made it count? Or what constitutes evidence? (For the record: I did get the pop-up and made a screenshot, because first I couldn’t believe what I saw and then was pretty much speechless for a few moments.)
    – Stephie
    Nov 12, 2022 at 21:56
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    @Stephie: There is a meta-question on the subject asked during the earliest days of the site.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Nov 13, 2022 at 0:19

2 Answers 2

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Snopes has confirmed the story including directly contacting KFC Global, and getting the response:

On November 9, an automated push notification was accidently issued to KFC app users in Germany that contained an obviously unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message and for this we sincerely apologise. We use a semi-automated content creation process linked to calendars that include national observances. In this instance, our internal review process was not properly followed, resulting in a non-approved notification being shared. We have suspended app communications while we examine our current process to ensure such an issue does not occur again. We understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for all.

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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Nov 12, 2022 at 14:08
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This was reported on as being true by the BBC:

KFC has apologised after sending a promotional message to customers in Germany, urging them to commemorate Kristallnacht with cheesy chicken. [...]

In a statement issued to Newsweek magazine, KFC Germany blamed the message on a bot.

The fast food chain said the "automated push notification" was "linked to calendars that include national observances".

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    That's a good source, but it needs to provide context to be a good answer. "Always quote the most relevant part of an important link, in case the external resource is unreachable or goes permanently offline. Links to other websites should always be helpful, but avoid making it necessary to click on them as much as possible."
    – Schwern
    Dec 17, 2022 at 20:58
  • I've added quotes from your link into your answer. imho it doesn't actually add anything beyond the existing, accepted answer though (snopes uses that bbc article as source). If you want to avoid further downvotes, I would recommend to check out some of the more highly upvoted questions and answer here to get an idea of what makes a good question and answer.
    – tim ♦
    Dec 19, 2022 at 16:52
  • @tim, downvoting people who gave a shorter and simpler answer isn't a good look.
    – Aaargh Zombies
    Dec 20, 2022 at 18:12

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