Poster turning away unvaccinated job hopefuls at a New Zealand supermarket is fake
The sign states that the person can "find out more" through the COVID-19 government website.
(Reuters) - In image of a poster that appears to inform customers of a shop in New Zealand that it does not hire unvaccinated people has been shared on social media.
The sign states that the person can “find out more” through the COVID-19 government website.
However, both the supermarket and the New Zealand government told Reuters that the notice is not real.
Social media posts have shared an image of a sign on a store window, which reads: “We don’t hire the unvaccinated, go home”.
Underneath, it claims the reader can “find out more” on the New Zealand government COVID-19 webpage, “covid19.govt.nz”.
It also carries the government’s slogan: “Unite against COVID-19”.
One post sharing the picture said it was taken at supermarket chain Countdown in Tikipunga, Whangarei.
However, in an email, the store told Reuters: “This is not a sign that has been put up by our team, but rather a disgruntled person who has done this in a number of our Northland Stores”.
The team is working to remove the posters “whenever and wherever” they are put up, they said.
A New Zealand government spokesperson told Reuters that the poster is not an official government one.
“While the New Zealand Government strongly encourages people to get vaccinated and have a booster, we can confirm that the material you have seen is not an official New Zealand Government product. The Unite Against COVID-19 campaign provides important, factual information that aims to keep New Zealand communities safe from the virus,” said the spokesperson of the COVID-19 Group, a section of the New Zealand Prime Minister and Cabinet Department.
“Fake or doctored posters that misuse the Unite Against COVID-19 logo and branding risk confusion. We advise against anyone misusing the Unite Against COVID-19 branding as this may be considered a breach of Crown Copyright and/or an offence against the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act 1981 (s13) and may lead to prosecution.”
VERDICT
False. The sign was not put up by the store, nor was it created by the New Zealand government.
