Góa-Linda employee apologises for false KFC restaurant claim

Patrik Atlason, an employee of Góa-Linda, has apologised after telling a Morgunblaðið reporter that a new KFC restaurant was being planned at Lyfjaval’s premises in Hæðarsmári, Kópavogur, despite knowing that was not true, mbl.is reported.

Atlason had made the same claim on social media. KFC and Góa-Linda are sister companies owned by the family of Helgi Vilhjálmsson, Atlason’s grandfather, and Atlason has been a public face for the businesses. After Morgunblaðið reported the alleged plans, he corrected the claim on social media.

In a written apology to the newspaper and reporter, Atlason said he was sorry he had not immediately explained that it was a joke. He said he had been experimenting with artificial intelligence to see what KFC might look like at the location, adding: “Of course, the joke should have ended there and not dragged you into the nonsense with me.”

In a brief interview with mbl.is, Atlason said he alone was responsible and had decided to joke with the reporter when he called. “I said this was in some kind of process. There was nothing more behind it; I was just joking, which is why I want to apologise,” he said. He also questioned why the matter was being made more serious, and maintained that he had only said the restaurant might be in some kind of process.