Photo of fried chicken head was found in KFC order, not Popeyes meal | Fact check
The claim: Image shows the head of a chicken found in a Popeyes meal
An Aug. 28 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be the deep-fried head of a chicken.
“Popeyes chicken!” reads the caption.
It was shared more than 25,000 times in five days.
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Our rating: False
The image dates back to 2021, when a woman in the U.K. reported finding it in her KFC meal. A Popeyes spokesperson told Paste BN it has since been recirculated and mistakenly attributed to Popeyes.
KFC 'baffled' by discovery in chicken meal in 2021
Dara Schopp Helitzer, a Popeyes spokesperson, told Paste BN the image is an “old photo” that is not from one of its customers.
The photo actually shows a chicken head discovered in a KFC meal in the U.K. in December 2021, according to news reports from the Independent, New York Daily News and The Sun.
The photo and a screenshot of the customer’s two-star JustEat review was also posted on social media accounts for @takeawaytrauma, which documents unappealing dining experiences around the world, in December 2021.
KFC in the U.K. responded on X, then known as Twitter, by saying it was “probably the most generous 2-star review ever.”
“We were genuinely surprised by this photo,” read the statement in part. “Baffled, even.”
The restaurant said it put additional measures in place with its suppliers and retrained employees to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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In the nearly two years since the incident, the photo has repeatedly “resurfaced on Facebook with false attribution to Popeyes,” Helitzer said.
Paste BN has previously debunked false claims about various fast food restaurants, including that the FDA found horse meat in Wendy’s food, that KFC is using lab-grown meat in its products and that McDonald’s closed in three countries after being caught serving human meat.
Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
- Dara Schopp Helitzer, Sept. 5, Email exchange with Paste BN
- New York Daily News, Dec. 23, 2021, KFC customer posts photo of chicken head found in her order
- The Independent, Dec. 23, 2021, UK diner left ‘disgusted’ after finding entire chicken head in box of KFC hot wings
- The Sun, Dec. 23, 2021, Diner disgusted after finding a full CHICKEN HEAD in her box of KFC hot wings
- KFC U.K., Dec. 22, 2021, X post
- @takeawaytrauma, Dec. 20, 2021, Instagram post
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