Seriously McDonalds

The photograph shows a sign stuck on what is apparently the window of a McDonald's restaurant with tape. The sign reads: The sign has a footer which says "McDonald's Corporation" and features the McDonald's logo and a helpline number. However, the helpline number actually connects to the KFC Customer Satisfaction Hotline. The picture is a hoax; McDonald's has no such policy. ==History==

Prior to viral status McDonald's had been aware of the image for around a year prior to it trending on Twitter. The McDonald's social media team were not concerned about the photograph, assigning it a low "impact level", as it made claims that the team thought were too outrageous to be believable. Lauri Apple, writing for gossip website Gawker, reported, attributing the claim to "various sources on the Twitter", that the image was a meme that first surfaced on 4chan some time before it went viral. Apple also linked to a post showing the picture on McServed.com, a blog which mocks both McDonald's and its customers, dated 17 June 2010. Viral In June 2011, the image was picked up by influential Twitter users, The photograph became the most highly trending topic over the weekend of the 11–12 June, being spread under the hashtags "#SeriouslyMcDonalds" and "#seriouslymcdonalds". The tag was reportedly used some 20 times per-second over the course of the weekend. The picture was eventually removed from Twitpic, and the speed at which it was spreading declined. The image is no longer well known or remembered, due to, according to public relations professional Ann Marie van den Hurk, McDonald's effective response to the image. ==Analysis==

Linendoll praised the response from McDonald's, saying that If you're a big corporation and something viral ... happens against you, you have to formulate a plan and respond quickly ... In this case, McDonald's handled it correctly; they used the medium Twitter they were accused on. Time is of the essence. We're not going to the press in the morning. We're going to the press in real time, when it comes to social networking. You have to respond and respond quickly. Well-handled. Van den Hurk also presented the response from McDonald's as an example of how organisations can best deal with social media crises. ==See also==