A viral TikTok of a woman berating a McDonald’s employee over a blue and white McChicken wrapper —which she insists is a demonstration of support for Israel — has resurfaced and is prompting mockery on social media.
In the TikTok, the woman unbags a chicken sandwich in her vehicle and becomes so incensed by the blue and white wrapper — the same colors of Israel’s flag — that she goes inside the restaurant to argue with an employee over its intention. The employee repeatedly tells the woman that the wrapper predates the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict and is purely coincidental.
“I know this is not your fault because you’re an employee—but I think this is disgusting for them to do this. And you know in your heart—you know in your heart—that this is clearly what this wrapper is for,” insists the woman.
“I mean I don’t know that, though,” responds the McDonald’s worker.
“Umm, I’m explaining it to you. This is what it is. This is what it’s for. This is the colour of their flag. This is really what they’re doing. And what they’re showing to people. And I think it’s disgusting.”
But while the TikTok is attracting viral attention on social media this week, a McDonald’s spokesperson told Reuters last year that the blue-and-white wrappers were “generic” and did not indicate any specific political stance.
“The generic wrappers have been used for years and exist in a variety of colors,” the spokesperson said. “None are intended to make any political statement.” Nevertheless, social media users are continuing to claim that McDonald’s is backing Israel using their wrappers as covert messaging.
While most of the latest discourse about the viral video is in the spirit of mocking the political left, others continue to insist that McDonald’s has taken a geopolitical, and by extension financial, position on Middle Eastern politics. Some noted that while the woman in the TikTok video was outraged over the packaging, McDonald’s continues to operate in Israel without issue.
“[A] burger from a company that’s funding the genocide of an entire nation? Yeah it’s pretty shameful,” posted X (formerly Twitter) user @imaskinnysenior.
Another X user, @meme_revolt, created a graphic of rockets forming McDonald’s famous “golden arches” and falling on the head of a child in Gaza.
Still another X user, @ShaunsEyeView, continued to assert the conspiracy theory that the blue and white wrapper must be a pro-Israel statement—all because the color blue allegedly won’t increase customer hunger levels like red or yellow wrappers do.
“[W]hy would McDonald’s intentionally make a change they KNOW will reduce their profits?” he asked.
McDonald’s faced similar scrutiny in late 2023 after one of its franchise locations announced on Instagram that they would be providing free meals for Israeli soldiers following the October 7 Hamas massacre.
This too was debunked by McDonald’s in a social media statement that said the Israeli franchise location acted independently and without corporate approval.
“McDonald’s Corporation is not funding or supporting any governments in this conflict,” they posted to Instagram.
