A Russian sushi chain has apologized for their advert which features a black man surrounded by white women after it sparked a barrage of threats and abuse.
YobiDoyobi, based in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ran the social media campaign on August 14, sparking abuse from an ultra-nationalist hate group.
The advertisement showed a photograph of the man surrounded by three young white women eating sushi.
In response, a campaign was been led by an ultranationalist hate group called Male State against Yobidoyobi food outlet and its co-founder Konstantin Zimen.
Russian sushi chain YobiDoyobi has publicly apologized for featuring a black man in an advert after its owner received death threats
Yobidoyobi co-founder Konstantin Zimen said he and his business received threats and abuse following the picture, according to The Moscow Times.
He said Vladislav Pozdnyakov, the leader of the 'Male State' nationalist anti-woman movement, shared the ad on social media and is targeting the delivery service with negative reviews.
He said: 'Pozdnyakov's followers advocated for 'real actions' against our brand. They are publishing the social media profiles of the women that took part in the advertisement and are writing negative reviews on all review sites, online maps, App Store, Google Play.'
While the business initially said it would not give in to pressure, it removed the advert on Saturday and published an apology on its social media accounts.
'On behalf of the entire company, we want to apologize for offending the public with our photos. We have removed all the content that caused this commotion,' it said on Instagram.
This comes after a Russian food firm sparked fury after deleting an advert featuring a lesbian family and then apologising for their 'mistake'.
Health food chain VkusVill won initial plaudits for defying the Kremlin's anti-LGBT laws which ban spreading gay 'propaganda' to children.
The advert was run on its website and showed four women sitting together at the dining table with the slogan: 'Recipes for family happiness.'
But VkusVill's marketing strategy backfired spectacularly when it removed the image and posted an apology for offending its customers and clients.
It said on Instagram: 'There was an article here that hurt the feelings of many of our customers, staff, partners and suppliers. We regret that this has happened, and we consider this publication to be our mistake, a manifestation of the unprofessionalism of certain employees.'
This comes after health food chain VkusVill sparked fury after deleting an advert featuring a lesbian family and then apologising for their 'mistake'
They replaced the family group - mother Yuma, daughters Mila and Alina, and Alina's girlfriend Ksyusha – with one of a conventional family under the same slogan.
VkusVill's U-turn sparked fury online, with many saying they had thrown the women – who are a real lesbian family and not actors – under the bus.
At first Zimen had told how his mobile number was leaked on a social network explaining that 'they now constantly call and message me with threats, registering my phone on dozens of websites.
'Pozdnyakov calls on his followers to make fake orders throughout all of Russia (we have 65 cities in our chain) so that we 'Pay for the [N-word]' and lose money.
'All this is very strange, considering that we did not even try to 'promote the agenda', but simply made very standard visuals for social networks.'
His chain also suffered DDOS attacks and there were allegedly threats against Zimen and the female models in the advertisement.
'In Pozdnyakov's telegram channel, subscribers call for 'real' actions, publish links to the social networks of the girls who starred in the advertising, and write negative reviews on all review sites, online maps, AppStore, Google Play.'
Despite this, on 26 August urged his company and its customers to 'hold on and try to stay positive'.
The image of the lesbian family was replaced with another of a straight couple with their three children
But faced with the continuing attacks, the company over the weekend withdrew the advert and another featuring the black model ad white women - and a second with only the man - and issued its apology.
Earlier popular Russian organic grocer VkusVill abandoned promotional material featuring an LGBT family and replaced it with an apology after facing backlash.
Reports say the same-sex family who appeared in the ad have since fled Russia, citing death threats.
Pozdnyakov, 35, had claimed 150,000 supporters at its peak and has been convicted of inciting hatred toward women. He was handed a two year suspended sentence in 2018, overturned the following year.
The attack on Yobidoyobi began in the Siberia city of Krasnoyarsk where the chain is based. In his Telegram channel with 80,000 backers, Pozdnyakov posted an exchange with the sushi outlet.
'Do you believe using an Afro American man fits Krasnoyarsk?'
Sushi chain: Why not?
'So is this norm in your reality that there is an Afro American man in the centre, with white Slav girls twirling around him?
'Does your company care about its reputation, and the number of its clients?
'We have an audience of 80,000 people who will take pleasure in wiping out any desire to promote black men.'
In July, bodybuilder Pozdnyakov led a campaign against the Russian wife of a Nigerian man Richard Eluemunor who drowned while rescuing a swimmer in the Russian Baltic region of Kaliningrad.
His widow Natalia Eluemunor said she received death threats.
'Pozdnyakov publishes my personal data and makes mocking photos with Richard,' she told the Podyom news website. 'There are many angry and negative comments, threats and gloating, but there's no point in contacting the police.'
She said Pozdnyakov's followers had threatened to kill, burn and drown her, stating that her husband's 'heroic act has no skin colour.'
She said last month: 'My main duty now is to see my husband off on his last journey. I won't tell you where and when because they promised to kill everyone who'll be there.'
The group Male State has been accused of threatening feminists with rape and death. It describes its ideology as 'national patriarchy'.
Pozdnyakov is said to be orchestrating his campaign from an EU country after being sought by Russian law enforcement.
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