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| - Fact Check: Viral clip of animal dung dumped at McDonald's NOT related to Israel-Hamas conflict
The video actually shows a protest by French farmers against fast food giants for importing foreign meat.
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India Today Fact Check
The video shows a protest by French farmers against fast food chains for importing foreign meat.
Fast-food giant McDonald's is facing international boycott calls following its Israeli franchise providing free meals to members of the Israeli military. Amid this, a video showing a truck unloading animal dung in front of a McDonald's outlet was widely shared on social media. Posts accompanying the video claimed that the global boycott campaign prompted hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters in France to carry out this action.
An X post containing the video read, “Protests have taken place in France by dumping animal dung in front of a McDonald's branch supporting Israel.” The archived version of one such post can be seen here.
India Today found that the viral video is unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. It shows dissatisfied French farmers protesting against fast food giants, especially McDonald's and Burger King for not sourcing enough beef from local farmers.
Our Probe
Conducting a keyword search, we found a report by Ouest-France, a French daily, dated November 24. The report, containing a still from the viral video, highlighted that 150 farmers from Haute-Saône in France dumped manure in front of McDonald's and Burger King outlets in Vesoul. The protest was organised to denounce fast-food giants for their inadequate sourcing of French meat.
It further said that the farmers, represented by the Departmental Federation of Farmers' Unions (FDSEA), criticised fast-food chains for extensively importing foreign meat — approximately 50 per cent — to produce their hamburgers.
We also found a press note released by FDSEA on Facebook. It emphasised that France has lost nearly one million cows in seven years, leading to an incessant decline in the number of animal farms. The post also featured images of disgruntled farmers lining up with their tractors to transport dung to the protest site, including a still of the red truck dumping manure outside a McDonald’s as seen in the viral video.
Reports also noted that the farmers sought support and urged large fast-food chains to purchase the meat from local sources. Burger King responded with a press statement acknowledging that only half of the beef served in its outlets in France is currently of French origin. The company pledged to increase local sourcing of beef and chicken to 60 per cent by 2024.
Other reports corroborating the context of the viral video can be seen here and here.
Thus, the video showing a protest by angry French farmers was falsely shared as reaction to the fast food company supporting the Israeli army.
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