Fighting fire with satire: how McDonald’s tackled online myths and misinformation

McDonald's has long been the subject of rumour and supposition around the contents of its products; the campaign has not been easy for the US-headquartered QSR, but it is beginning to shift the dial and regain trust in the UK.

Twenty years ago McDonald's was involved in one of the longest-running trials in English legal history, when it sued two environmental activists over a factsheet they had authored that was critical of the company. The so-called McLibel case dragged on for ten years and ended in a partial victory for the fast food giant which chose not to claim the damages awarded, which were in any case dwarfed by the legal costs involved. The damage to its reputation was considerable as the judge upheld several accusations made in the factsheet, including that McDonald's endangered the health of customers through "misleading...

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