Seriously McDonalds
"Seriously McDonalds" is the name under which a
Photograph
The photograph shows a sign stuck on what is apparently the window of a McDonald's restaurant with tape.[1] The sign reads:
PLEASE NOTE:As an insurance measure due in part to a recent string of robberies, African-American customers are now required to pay an additional fee of $1.50 per transaction.
Thank you for your cooperation.
The sign has a footer which says "McDonald's Corporation" and features the McDonald's logo and a helpline number. However, the helpline number actually connects to the
History
Prior to viral status
McDonald's had been aware of the image for around a year. The McDonald's social media team were not concerned about the photograph, assigning it a low "impact level", as it made claims that the team thought were too outrageous to be believed.[2]
Lauri Apple, writing for gossip website Gawker, reported, attributing the claim to "various sources on the Twitter", that the image was a meme that first surfaced on 4chan some time before it went viral.[3] Apple also linked to a post showing the picture on McServed.com, a blog which mocks both McDonald's and its customers, dated 17 June 2010.[3][4]
Viral
In June 2011, the image was picked up by influential Twitter users,
Response from McDonald's
McDonald's responded to the hoax on 11 June by tweeting "That pic is a senseless & ignorant hoax. McD's values ALL our customers. Diversity runs deep in our culture on both sides of the counter."
Little damage was done by the hoax, which, in addition to McDonald's response, was revealed through Twitter users' own investigations.[8] The image is no longer well known or remembered, due, according to public relations professional Ann Marie van den Hurk, to McDonald's effective response to the image.[2]
Analysis
Linendoll praised the response from McDonald's, saying that
If you're a big corporation and something viral ... happens against you, you have to formulate a plan and respond quickly ... In this case, McDonald's handled it correctly; they used the medium Twitter they were accused on. Time is of the essence. We're not going to the press in the morning. We're going to the press in real time, when it comes to social networking. You have to respond and respond quickly. Well-handled.[4]
Christopher Barger of
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Maccas in damage control over Seriously McDonald's picture hoax". News.com.au. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9780133353891.
- ^ a b c Apple, Lauri (12 June 2011). "'Seriously McDonalds' Hoax-Pic Angers Internet, McDonald's". Gawker. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d "McDonald's racist Twitter message was hoax". CBS News. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Forbes. Archived from the originalon June 19, 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Fake racist McDonald's twitpic enrages Tweeps". The Independent. 14 June 2011. Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Moses, Asher (14 June 2011). "Maccas, JK Rowling, lesbian bloggers: hoaxers take over the world wide web". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Newman, Nic (2011). Mainstream media and the distribution of news in the age of social discovery (PDF) (Report). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. p. 37.
External links
- Cookin' Up Discrimination? on McServed.com