Sometimes there is nothing better than scrolling through photo after photo after photo of pets. It’s better than doom scrolling, right? But a company’s latest Instagram post that promised that a tree would be planted for every pet photo shared on the site, got out of hand quickly. Now there are questions swirling around if the post and what was promised was real in the first place.
Plant A Tree Co. posted that it would plant a tree for every pet photo shared. Pet lovers heard the call and listened, posting 4.1 million images using Instagram’s “Add Yours” interactive sticker feature which allows for the public to add their posts to a common chain, The Washington Post reported.
Even celebrities like Sarah Hyland and Lili Reinhart shared their pets’ photos, CBC News reported.
With the photos, some Instagram users were asking who would plant the trees and where, NBC News reported.
Zack Saadioui, who made the Instagram post according to both media outlets, wrote on the social media platform that the original post was up for 10 minutes, thinking that only the company’s followers would be able to see it, but when he realized what could happen, the post was deleted.
Saadioui is from Boca Raton, Florida, NBC News reported.
“We immediately understood the potential this post had and believed we didn’t have the capabilities and resources to keep our end of the post,” the company wrote, according to The Washington Post.
If all goes as was promised, Plant A Tree Co. should be planting more than 4 million trees.
However, Plant a Tree Co. has been accused of not following through on its promises, both NBC News and the Post reported.
Saadioui acknowledged past issues, including a similar post in 2019 when he was a 21-year-old college junior who promised to plant a tree for each time a social media post was reshared.
“I understand where they’re coming from, as we have made unintentional mistakes in the past,” Saadioui told NBC News. “We addressed it, stopped the post and stated that it would be impossible to plant,” in reference to the past controversies.
But according to the company’s website, it is a fundraising company that claims to have raised $600,000 since its inception, so Saadioui said he is going to raise money for Trees for the Future so they can get trees planted.
Trees for the Future is not listed on Plant A Tree Co.’s website as a fundraiser as of Wednesday afternoon. Trees for the Future also told CBC News they are not affiliated with Saadioui’s company.
“When the fundraiser came to our attention, we immediately reached out to the group asking them to clarify the nature of the fundraiser, and we reported the post to Instagram,” Lindsay Cobb, Trees for the Future spokesperson, told CBC News.
