London-based startup Nothing launched its phone (1) on Tuesday in India. Hours after launching it, 'Dear Nothing' was seen trending rapidly on the social media giant Twitter. Along with it, many users in the Southern states of India expressed anger about it.
But, what is the #DearNothing controversy?
#DearNothing began trending after the popular YouTube Channel ‘Prasadtechintelugu’ released a new video of the phone (1) launch event. The event saw the content creator reviewing the phone. While unboxing a fake Nothing phone (1), the content creator sees an empty box with a letter inside.
The letter, also fake, says "Hi Prasad, this device is not for South Indian people. Thank you". It felt like the creator was going for sarcasm that meant the lack of Nothing phone (1) review units provided to regional content creators in India. However, it should be noted that sending out review units depends entirely on the company.
This erupted in controversy where several Twitter users waiting for the Nothing phone (1) misunderstood it by believing the video was official communication from the brand itself. It has started the debate of South India vs Hindi again. It went ugly when the users accused the London-based company of favoring Hindi creators and not regional ones.
However, there has no official statement was made by the mobile company.