Racial hoax causes PR headache for McDonald’s

An online hoax that falsely suggests McDonald's discriminates against African-American customers is causing a PR headache for the Golden Arches.

Over the weekend, the photograph above circulated widely on the internet. The image shows what looks like an official McDonald's notice in the window of a restaurant, telling customers that blacks will be charged $1.50 extra "as an insurance measure due in part to a recent string of robberies."



Many internet users retweeted the photo, using the words "Seriously McDonald's," to express their disapproval of the burger chain.

In response, McDonald's sent a tweet of its own on Saturday: "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."

But that clearly wasn't enough to clear things up, because Twitter users continued to send out the picture, with that same message of condemnation: "Seriously McDonald's." Indeed, so many people sent "Seriously

McDonald's" Tweets that the phrase became a leading entry on Twitter's trend list.

That led to a second, blunter McTweet, on Sunday: "That Seriously McDonalds picture is a hoax."

The latest pushback effort seems to have helped keep the photo from spreading too much further--but there's no telling how many people out there still think the photo is for real.

This is hardly the only recent barrage of negative publicity for the burger behemoth--some of it more justified.

McDonalds CEO Jim Skinner recently was forced to defend the company's renewed use of the Ronald McDonald mascot to appeal to children, after critics said the restaurant's fat-laden burgers and fries endanger kids' health.

It's not clear who created the hoax image. It appears to have first showed up on the popular 4chan message board, and it was posted last year on an anti-McDonald's blog.

But there's no doubt it's fake. As some Twitter users have pointed out, the toll-free number given at the bottom of the sign is actually the number for ... Kentucky Fried Chicken.


*If this wasn't racist, it would almost be funny. Whoever did this is a racist and low down. We all know that McDonald's has diverse actions (although sometimes they be frontin), and have one of the most diverse corporations world wide.

 This is purely "McHater" mentality!

If people would find productive things to do on the web then to stir up hate, then the world would be a better place. Hating on McDonalds isn't going to solve anything and surely putting images up about a race of people won't solve anything either. It will only cause more controversy and hate. 

Twitter lingo-"McTweet" and "Seriously McDonalds" are all in fun or not!


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Blogger admits 'Gay Girl in Damascus' hoax

(AFP) – Rights campaigners reacted furiously after a US student based in Scotland unmasked himself as the author of the "Gay Girl in Damascus" blogs, which charted the security crackdown in Syria.

Tom MacMaster, a 40-year-old Edinburgh University masters student, admitted Sunday that he was "Amina Abdullah", who had described "herself" as a Syrian political blogger.

The Abdullah character rose to fame with her reports on the pro-reform movement, posting as "an out Syrian lesbian's thoughts on life, the universe and so on".

Then last Tuesday someone claiming to be her cousin wrote on the website that Abdullah had been snatched off the street by three armed men and bundled into a car bearing a pro-government window sticker.

The report sparked a wave of alarm among her online followers. Supporters even set up a "Free Amina Abdullah" group on the social networking site Facebook, attracting nearly 15,000 followers.

MacMaster finally came clean in a posting on his blog Sunday, after doubts began to emerge as to whether Abdullah really was for real. He admitted that he was the sole author of the posts.

"I never expected this level of attention," MacMaster wrote in an "Apology to readers" posted on the blog.

"While the narrative voice may have been fictional, the facts on this blog are true and not misleading as to the situation on the ground.

"I do not believe that I have harmed anyone -- I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about," MacMaster added.

"I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in this year of revolutions."

The Guardian newspaper said that in recent days, bloggers had uncovered evidence that pointed towards MacMaster and his wife Britta Froelicher.

MacMaster is a Middle East activist, while his wife is studying at Scotland's St Andrews University for a doctorate in Syrian economic development.
In his apology, MacMaster said he had been touched by the reaction of readers.

But the revelation of the hoax has sparked fury among some former followers of the blog, particularly those who had been campaigning for Abdullah's release.

"This just makes me so angry," said one comment on the Facebook group set up to press for her release.

"The situation in Syria is too dire for this sort of gameplaying!"

"Time and effort was taken away from other vitally important news stories happening in Syria," another contributor protested.

*This is a hot ass mess!! For someone to play games like this; is utterly haneous and ridiculous! People have to understand that "real issues" are as real as they come to real people. Playing games not only says "f*$k" your issues, but says "I have am not human and have no compassion for anyone!." This guy obviously isn't to smart if this is what he spends his time doing. It seems school isn't working for him.

Tom MacMaster who is to old (40 yrs old) to be playing games needs to take his stupidity and enroll in; "I will shoot myself now" school.

Games are for kids and not for some pernicious 40 year old man to play!*


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