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McDonald's is embroiled in a social-media nightmare after a sexual video featuring McChicken goes viral
Hollis Johnson
McDonald's is going viral for a disturbing reason.
A very graphic video of a man engaging in a sexual act with a McChicken sandwich went viral over the weekend. The video, and people's responses to it, helped propel #McChicken to the position of a top trending topic on Twitter and Facebook on Sunday evening and into Monday.
Of course, as more people clicked the McChicken hashtag to see why it was trending, more people were exposed to the disturbing video. And, after being exposed, they felt the need to comment on the video, further growing its reach.
By Monday, thousands of social-media users — including celebrities like Seth Rogen and Chrissy Teigen — had name-dropped the McChicken.
Nearly all of the posts are expressing disgust, and most seem to have discovered the topic after wondering why #McChicken was trending:
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/770062176023408643
I really hope that Sausage Party in no way inspired this #McChicken thing.
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/769941263042899969
*Logs on Twitter*
Me: Lol why is McChicken trending?
*Sees video*
Me: pic.twitter.com/971FIDVoB1
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/769952772888199168
When you learn why McChicken is trending and see it becoming a meme on your timeline pic.twitter.com/qniyDsKiDA
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/770004871206596609
Me: I wonder why #McChicken is trending on Twitter...
*taps hashtag*
Me: pic.twitter.com/jR2dTQNiqn
The explosion of the #McChicken hashtag reveals how social-media platforms' algorithms that track and promote trending news can have unintended negative effects for a brand. Posts signaling disgust and outrage about being tricked into watching the video are by far the most common social-media posts about the #McChicken.
But expressing disgust that #McChicken was trending just helps #McChicken grow.
It's a similar situation to the supposed "outrage" over Starbucks' plain red cups last winter — just way more gross and explicit. In November 2015, people criticizing others who were outraged by the red cups on social media far outnumbered those who were actually outraged.
But because the two parties used the same hashtag, it allowed the anti-Starbucks trend to quickly expand seem much bigger than it ever was.
While Starbucks ultimately had one of its most successful holiday seasons ever after the red-cup scandal, McDonald's may not be so lucky.
Recently, the fast-food chain has been focusing marketing on its new Chicken McNuggets, made with 100% white meat. A viral video of a man engaging in a sexual act with a chicken sandwich is almost certainly far from the social-media response that the chain was hoping for with its mission to promote higher-quality chicken products.
McDonald's did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the situation.
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