Dubai: An app designed to identify the source of products in order to help consumers avoid them is being used in the movement to boycott Israeli goods.
Buycott, which was not specifically designed for Israeli products, allows users to join campaigns that they want to support or boycott. Users scan product bar codes with their smartphone camera, the app then cross-checks scanned products against a database of companies and brands that conflict with any of the user’s selected campaigns.
The popularity of the app has grown in recent weeks due to the renewed violence in Gaza. The two most popular campaigns, “Long live Palestine Boycott Israel” and “Avoid Israeli Settlement Products”, have a combined number of 350,000 supporters.
As the app’s creator, Ivan Pardon, said, “I noticed three weeks ago that we were seeing an unusual spike in traffic, but there hadn’t been any articles written about the app or Israel campaigns, next thing I knew Buycott was a top 10 app in the UK and Netherlands, and number 1 in a number of Middle Eastern countries. Word was spreading through social media.”
The app currently has 49 Israeli brands listed in its database, including big names such as SodaStream, Nestle and Marks & Spencer though users are able to add unknown products to the database as well as provide background information on companies already listed. The accuracy and reliability of brand information is ensured through a voting system wherein users are able to vote positively or negatively on submitted information.
Gareth Browne is an intern at Gulf News
