Is McDonald’s charging African-Americans $1.50 additional fee? Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

An image is circulating social media that appears to show a sign stuck to a window in an undisclosed McDonalds outlet claiming that African-American customers are required to pay an additional free of $1.50 due to a “recent string of robberies”.

The image is a hoax. While we cannot determine if the image was actually stuck to a window in a McDonalds outlet, it was not authorised by any staff and it isn’t a company policy in any McDonalds store.

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.
McDonalds Corporation
(800) 225-5532

The image has been spreading on social media since 2010, resurfacing with renewed vigour every handful of years. The image managed to spread so prolifically in 2011, McDonalds addressed the hoax via their Twitter feed –

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.

To confirm the hoax, eagle-eyed viewers would have spotted the customer phone number on the image, 800-225-5532, actually converts to 800-CALL-KFC. It’s the customer satisfaction number for McDonalds rival KFC.

It’s a hoax. Please stop spreading it.

Continued below...


Thanks for reading, we hope this article helped, but before you leave us for greener pastures, please help us out.

We're hoping to be totally ad-free by 2025 - after all, no one likes online adverts, and all they do is get in the way and slow everything down. But of course we still have fees and costs to pay, so please, please consider becoming a Facebook supporter! It costs only 0.99p (~$1.30) a month (you can stop at any time) and ensures we can still keep posting Cybersecurity themed content to help keep our communities safe and scam-free. You can subscribe here

Remember, we're active on social media - so follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram and X