McDonald's Battles Internet Hoax

You know the old saying, lies and bad news spread faster than the truth? Well, thanks to the web, it's truer than ever. Last Sunday, a photo surfaced on Twitter under the hashtag #SeriouslyMcDonalds depicting what appeared to be an official notice taped outside a McDonald's stating that African American customers would be charged $1.50 extra on every purchase in an attempt to curb robberies.

It turns out the whole thing was a prank, but fallout from the hoax has continued. McDonald's representatives immediately took to Twitter to set the story straight, but not before angry tweeters had a chance to respond to it. Even after the company's director of social media, Rick Wion, released an official statement stressing that the picture was "obviously a hoax" and reminding customers of the company's proud "record of diversity," the hashtag continues to draw attention.

But the initial outpourings of anger ("Isn't slaughtering chickens inhuman enough? Definitely hit an all-time low") have morphed into retrospective tweets about how the hoax "says a lot about the internet and the world today." 

The Daily Byte is a regular column dedicated to covering interesting food news and trends across the country. Click here for previous columns.