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DEBUNKED: McDonald’s not responsible for rat's head served with hamburger
McDonald’s debunked rumors the chain served a rat’s head in a hamburger after disgusting photos on social media forced a location near Mexico City to close.
McDonald’s Mexico plans to prosecute whoever planted a rodent’s head in a customer’s meal, the Associated Press reports.
Photos of what appears to be a rat’s head appeared on social media earlier in November.
Hallan rata en hamburgesa de @McDonaldsMexico controles sanitarios en #México totalmente vulnerables #MacDonalds pic.twitter.com/pH7SwPXyL5
— FactorNoticia Vial (@FactorNoticia) November 9, 2015
Soon after the discovery of the rat’s head, the location where the rodent was allegedly found was closed by authorities.
Last week, the company took to social media to address the issue. According to McDonald’s, government testing proved that the rodent was not cooked with the hamburger.
This isn’t the first time a fast-food chain has been tied to a rat in a social media-centric attention grab. In June, a story about a fried rat found in a KFC meal went viral. However, a little digging revealed that the “rat” was likely just a strangely shaped piece of fried chicken.
(Facebook)
Urban legends surrounding McDonald’s and other fast-food chains aren’t new, with McDonald’s launching an entire marketing campaign to debunk rumors such as its use of pink slime in burgers last year. However, as in the case of the KFC fried rat, social media allows these rumors to take on a new life — and give companies a chance to respond and debunk false claims.
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