A US based tree company has been forced to apologise after failing to uphold their end of the bargain following an online trend.
The ‘plant one tree for every picture’ campaign, which went viral on Instagram, has already seen millions of people post cute pictures of their pets online.
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Who started Instagram’s ‘plant one tree for every picture’ campaign?
Eventually, a company called Plant A Tree Co claimed that they started the trend after users were left fuming at the “fake campaign.”
They clarified on Instagram that they had started the “Add Yours” trend as a “fun tree planting campaign”.
According to their profile, the company’s aim to raise money for various charities across the world including the Islamic relief program USA and save the elephants.
They also claim to have planted 6,500 trees since they launched.
What did organisers say on the Instagram trend?
After the trend quickly gained traction, the tree company explained that they were forced to remove the sticker from their account after it became apparent they would not be able to plant that many trees.
In an apology they said: “We immediately understood the potential this post had and we believed we didn’t have the capabilities and resources to keep our end of the post”
“Though we deleted the post, it continued to spread through people’s stories, and through the power of the internet is now at four million shares.”
They also added that Instagram, had “stripped” them of the credit of starting the global campaign and was responsible for “hiding” their message from the millions who participated.
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Will they be planting trees for the pet pictures?
Plant A Tree Co has encouraged users who took part to raise awareness of the fundraiser, so that “four million trees could actually be planted.”
The group added that it aims to raise $1.3million for the campaign after more than five million internet users posted pics of their pets online.
The company promised: “Though we don’t have the ability to plant four million trees, we can use this awareness to make a lasting impact.”
