Some South Indians on Twitter want to boycott Nothing phone (1) over a fake company note from a YouTube video

• A fake company note used by a YouTuber has resulted in social media users calling for the boycott of the Nothing phone (1).
  
• A YouTuber who did not receive a review unit posted a fake unboxing of the device.
  
• The YouTuber has now removed the fake note from his video.

Carl Pei-led Nothing has launched the phone (1), the company’s first smartphone in India. While a lot of people have been waiting for quite some time now due to its unique design, a Twitter trend by users from South India has called for the boycott of the company.

Since Nothing launched the phone (1) yesterday, thousands of tweets are done using the hashtags #BoycottNothing and #DearNothing by some Twitter users, supposedly from the southern states of India.

The users have claimed that Nothing is ignoring creators or Youtubers to be specific from South India and regional languages. They have called for a boycott of the Nothing phone (1).

Why are users asking for Nothing phone 1’s boycott?

The issue around the Nothing phone (1) began when a YouTuber by the channel name Prasadtechintelugu posted a video, claiming to unbox the phone (1).

However, he began the video by saying that Nothing has provided the device to YouTubers who create videos in regional languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.

In the video, the YouTuber also talked about regional creators being ignored by smartphone makers.

The controversy began when the YouTuber used a dummy box of the phone (1) and pretended to unbox the device. Then, he removed a paper that read “Hi Prasad, This device is not for South Indian people. Thank You”.

The YouTuber has now removed the letter from the video and has added a disclaimer in the comments that the letter was for “representation purpose and not an official communication from Nothing”.

Update: Manu Sharma, Vice President, Nothing India has released a statement, clarifying that the company is sending out devices in a phased manner and creators from across the country have already started to receive the device.

The video triggered a huge response on social media and platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were flooded with posts about Nothing ignoring the regional languages.

While it’s clear that the note was placed by the Youtuber, it has done considerable damage to the brand the next day after the launch.

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