The reason for inciting this campaign on social networks is a post on Facebook from a suspicious closed account, in which the author, without giving further details, says that at the cash register in the “Kipper” market in Gjorce Petrov, the saleswoman refused to tell the prices of the products in the Macedonian language, i.e. at first she wanted to say them in her “native language”. On the social networks Instagram and Twitter in Macedonia, an ethnically based campaign calls for boycott of the “Kipper” and “Kit Go” markets solely based on the fact that the owners are Albanians, writes Portalb.mk.
The campaign is full of extreme messages on ethnic, religious and national grounds, according to which the reason for boycotting these markets is because “the employee at KAM or Stokomak is called Svetle, or Gorde, which is far more sonorous than Shpressa or Valona”.
The reason for inciting this campaign on social networks is a post on Facebook from a suspicious closed account, in which the author, without giving further details, says that at the cash register in the “Kipper” market in Gjorce Petrov, the saleswoman refused to tell the prices of the products in the Macedonian language, i.e. at first she wanted to say them in her “native language”. Further in this controversial post, through a deliberate substitution of theses, the author asks, “are we returning to the time of Nazi Germany, when certain nationalities were restricted in their movement”.
Such post is further expanded through the so-called influencers on the social networks Instagram and Twitter, calling for a boycott with the obvious intention of dividing the population on ethnic grounds.
As “discriminatory” behavior of these markets is considered the fact that they do not sell alcohol and products containing pork, the consumption of which is against the Islamic religion.
Not selling certain products is not discrimination
However, the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination tells Meta.mk that choosing not to sell certain products cannot constitute discrimination, because the merchants themselves decide which goods they will offer for sale.
“The offer and sale of goods is at the disposal of traders in accordance with their economic interests, business practices and market principles and in accordance with the regulations governing trade and consumer protection, hence the non-sale of certain goods could not constitute discrimination when trade is carried out in within the framework of these principles and regulations”, says an employee of the expert service of the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination, who wished to remain anonymous.
He explains that in order to be considered discrimination, there must be an illegal or prohibited action by which a certain person or group of persons is placed in an unequal position with another person or group of persons, in terms of exercising their rights and freedoms, for the sake of some of their characteristic with which they are identified.
“The absence of certain goods from the offer of some merchants could not be correlated with the realization of rights and freedoms of persons or a group of persons,” he says.
Money and economic power have no color, nation or religion
Economic expert Abil Baush believes that this campaign is a marketing trick and has a negative effect on our economy because it destroys the market.
“Money, economic power has no color, nation and religion,” says Bausch.
He adds that the economy is used to working on a free market and reminds that there were similar examples before with the mobile operator “Albafon” in 2013.
“This operator had a ‘We speak Albanian’ campaign and it failed very quickly because it only provided services to one primary group,” says Bausch.
On the other hand, the professor of marketing and international business at the University of Southeast Europe, Jusuf Zeqiri, explains that such campaigns often appear as a result of unethical communication aimed at the consumer behavior of another ethnic group, positioning elements of ethno-marketing in a negative connotation.
“By using provocative messages, they only aim to increase their followers. Thus, given the fragile environment, they very quickly attract the attention of their followers who, as consumers, see these influencers as reference points,” says Zeqiri.
The professor points out that one of the goals of those who spread the campaign based on ethnic divisions is to increase their popularity while undermining the credibility of the brands that are attacked. “Such campaigns negatively affect the economy by damaging brand reputation and reducing consumer confidence, especially in ethnically mixed markets,” says Zeqiri, adding that instead of promoting product value, such campaigns are perceived by consumers as discriminatory and can cause economic and social pressure on brands and consumers themselves. “A brand associated with discriminatory messages can lose consumer trust and be perceived as supporting or tolerating such behavior, making it difficult to regain trust and credibility,” adds the professor.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce of North-West Macedonia, Mendi Qira, says that they regularly receive information about such campaigns, which, according to him, are increasingly present. He emphasizes that the specific campaign is reflected negatively because it is a fact that in the markets that are targeted, there are Albanians and Macedonians employed. They also purchase products from both Macedonian and Albanian companies. However, his opinion is that these occurrences are exceptions and do not have a long-lasting effect.
“I consider these occurrences to be exceptions and they do not have a long-lasting effect, and the entities that play this dishonest game will realize that all companies are our companies, regardless of whether the owner is Albanian or Macedonian. They also pay tax to the state, contribute to employment, to the competition that gives quality and a real price in the market”, says Qira.
He called on the competent institutions to react because this phenomenon is harmful not only to the economy but also to politics.
“We are a multi-ethnic community and as such we need to protect ourselves in order to develop economically,” Qira says.
Hate only fuels more hate
According to the experts we spoke with, it is especially dangerous that such discriminatory campaigns encourage hate speech that is present in the comments of the posts that are part of the campaign.
For the purposes of this article, Meta.mk contacted two professors from the Faculty of Economics at the St. Cyril and Methodius State University, as well as the dean of the faculty, but they did not want to publicly comment on the ethnically based campaign.
In contrast, Professor Zeqiri says that “discriminatory campaigns can prevent the formation of partnerships with other companies causing even more damage to the brand’s reputation in sensitive markets characterized by different affiliations and different beliefs.”
According to him, to avoid influential marketing campaigns that promote discrimination or bias, there must be clear ethical guidelines that promote diversity and inclusion of all communities.
“Influencers must recognize their influence over a broad audience, particularly in areas shaped by cultural and social factors, and be mindful of ethnic differences,” says Professor Zeqiri.
Practice shows that such negative campaigns normalize hostility, reinforce harmful stereotypes and encourage an “us versus them” mentality.
They often exploit fear, anger and resentment, which prompts people to express their frustrations through hate speech. By amplifying these messages, especially on social networks, the spread of hate speech is accelerated, creating an environment where divisive and aggressive rhetoric is validated. This creates conditions for further even deeper polarization and intolerance.
Written by Despina Kovachevska, Portalb.mk