• 01 On January 21, 2021, plaintiffs in Northern California filed a Class Action Complaint alleging Subway fraudulently sold tuna sandwiches which did not contain 100% tuna.
  • 02 Over 65 legal events have occurred since the initial filing. Key events are given in the timeline below.
  • 03 This case study explores the media and public response to the judge allowing the fake tuna lawsuit to proceed.

The Event Timeline

Initial Class Action Complaint
filed by Plaintiffs
1/21/2021

Motion to Dismiss
filed by Subway
7/23/2021

Amended Complaint
filed by Plaintiffs
11/8/2021

Order Denying in part the Motion to Dismiss
7/7/2022

 
  • 01 Peak public reactions occured 1 day after peak news coverage (5 days after judgement)
  • 02 Incident had a global impact with most reactions occurring in Eastern US metro areas
  • 03 Mixed sentiment response (60% positive / 40% negative) with subway loyalists and net promoters generally more vocal
  • 04 Top reactions include jokes at Subway's expense

Global Conversations

Network Visualization: Top Accounts

Network Visualization: Top Posts

Volume of Reactions by Date

Reaction Sentiment Distribution

Positive Reactions

Negative Reactions

Twitter Poll

Top Positive/Negative Reaction Posts

Subway's Response

  • 01 Subway is standing firm in their position that their tuna sandwiches are made with real tuna.
  • 02 Subway has created a dedicated "Tuna Facts" website.
  • 03 The website ranked 1 on Google Search results throughout the months of July - September, implying Subway dedicated considerable marketing expense.
  • 04 Subway has changed legal counsel and responded to the Third Amended Complaint on 8/11/22.

Response to the Third Amended Complaint

Subway’s Official Response PR Campaign, Website


Plaintiffs Response

 

  • 01 Plaintiff Amin filed a Third Amended Complaint on 7/28/22, correcting deficiencies in the previous complaint, including the removal of plaintiff Dhanowa.
  • 02 Amin is proceeding with her lawsuit and demanding a jury trial.

Public's Response

  • 01 Average daily reactions to the incident have dropped by 95% from the peak on 7/12/22
  • 02 Most reactions express a belief in the allegations, even though they may not care about them.

Recent Reactions

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