A visible Starbucks cup during news broadcast led to a Turkish TV anchor being sacked. Here's why

An acclaimed Turkish TV news anchor, Meltem Gunay, was terminated from her job for featuring a Starbucks cup on her desk during a broadcast. Notably, in the Muslim-majority country, the American coffeehouse chain is believed to be pro-Israel, a claim thatStarbucks has rubbished saying that the protesters are "influenced by misrepresentation".

In Turkey, there has been a nationwide boycott of the Seattle-based company by coffee enthusiasts in the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war.The 45-year-old veteran newscaster Gunay, who was working with TGRT Haber, a nationwide TV channel in Turkey, faced the flak along with the director of the newscast.

The program director was also immediately sacked after the controversial broadcast. It was confirmed by the Turkish television.

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In a statement, the Istanbul-based media company assertedits commitment to "understandingthe sensitivities of the Turkish people regarding Gaza and defends them to the end.” “We do not approve of this action of the presenter and director, whose employment contracts were terminated, and we strongly condemn it," the statement added.

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The TV channel, in its defence, said that theanchor and director were terminatedfor "just cause". In its clarification, the TV channel also clarified that they were found to have acted "contrary to this principle".

With anti-Israel sentiment gaining momentum in Turkey, many videos have gone viral where protesters were seen rallying outside Starbucks locations, demanding that customers boycott the coffee chain in the country.

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'Butcher of Gaza'

Turkey, historically allied with Israel, has shifted its stance under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdogan has adopted a more adversarial approach towards the West Asian country. Erdogan is quite critical of the Israeli government and has lamented and labelled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "the butcher of Gaza".

This comes as Erdogandenounced Israel as a "terror state" while also condemning the killing of Palestinians in the ongoing war with the Hamas militant group.

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The row over Starbucks' alleged pro-Israeli stance has also faced criticism beyond the Muslim-majority country in the United States. However, CEO Laxman Narasimhan, while addressing the controversy, rubbished all the allegations and said that what is shown on social media platforms is not what the coffee giant stands for.

(With inputs from agencies)