Burger King will promote independent restaurants on its Instagram account for free to help them through tighter UK COVID-19 restrictions

• Independent restaurants can post on Burger King UK's Instagram account for free, the fast food giant said Tuesday, as the pandemic continues to deliver devastating blows to the industry.
• As parts of the UK, including London, move into stricter lockdown tiers, "it's clear independent restaurants need all our support," Burger King said in an Instagram post.
• "Until they can reopen, they can advertise on our Instagram for free," it added.
• In November, the chain urged customers to order from McDonald's, Taco Bell, and independent restaurants as the UK entered a second national lockdown, with dine-in services off the menu.

As the restaurant industry continues to be devastated by the pandemic, Burger King says it wants to help struggling small businesses in the UK.

The fast food giant announced Tuesday it would use its UK Instagram account to promote independent restaurants for free.

The announcement came the day after the UK government said London and other regions in southern England would move into the UK's strictest tier of coronavirus lockdown. Under tier-three rules, all on-site dining is banned, though restaurants and cafes can still offer takeout.

"There are many great dishes from thousands of restaurants that deserve to be as famous as the Whopper," Burger King wrote in a post on Instagram. "As we head into tier three across more parts of the country, it's clear independent restaurants need all our support.

"Until they can reopen, they can advertise on our Instagram for free."

Restaurants that want to take part need to upload their posts to Instagram with the hashtag #WhopperAndFriends, and Burger King will repost them on its own Instagram account to its 30,000 followers.

This isn't the first time Burger King UK has used its social media presence to promote other restaurants.

In November, the chain urged customers to order from rivals McDonald's, Taco Bell, and KFC, alongside independent restaurants, to support both their employees and the businesses themselves.

"Getting a Whopper is always best, but ordering a Big Mac is also not such a bad thing," Burger King said in a tweet at the time.

Read more: 4 ways McDonald's execs say the pandemic will forever change the restaurant industry

The hospitality sector is the UK's third-largest employer, according to the industry body UK Hospitality, and many workers in the sector were placed on furlough during waves of national and local lockdowns as restaurants, cafés, and bars were forced to close.

"The sector was hit hardest and first," UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls said in November, and "will hurt for months and years to come."

The UK's tier system places an "unfair, illogical and disproportionate burden on hospitality businesses without effectively tackling COVID," UK Hospitality said Monday following London's move to tier three.