Seriously McDonalds

The photograph shows a sign, which is in fact a hoax, claiming that McDonald's has implemented a new policy charging African-Americans more, as "an insurance measure".

Despite having existed for some time, the picture was spread around the Internet, especially on Twitter, in June 2011, by people who were offended or amused by the photograph.

[1] The sign reads: 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.

[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.

[2] 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 ...

[5] Van den Hurk also presented the response from McDonald's as an example of how organisations can best deal with social media crises.