Rat Meat Sold as Chicken Wings-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
The FDA allegedly issued a warning about rat meat being sold as chicken wings before Super Bowl 50.
The Truth:
Rumors about rat meat being sold as chicken wings came from a fake news website.
The fake news website, World News Daily Report, published a false report under the headline, “Rat Meat Sold As Chicken Wings: FDA Issues Warning Before Super Bowl.” According to the report:
San Francisco, CA | The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is concerned about an estimated 300,000 pounds of counterfeit rat meat that has been sold as chicken wings in restaurants and grocery stores across America.
FDA inspectors raised concerns when several illegal containers originating from China were seized by customs at the Port of San Francisco and were found to contain rat meat that was meant to be shipped to different meat processing plants across America and resold as chicken.
The story went on to (falsely) report that 300,000 pounds of counterfeit rat meat was still believed to be in circulation. Given the timing of the report, just before the biggest chicken wing-eating event of the year, it quickly went viral. Within a week, the report was shared 26,000 times on social media sites.
Taken out of context, many readers were tricked into believing that the report was true. But World News Daily Report is a well-known fake news website, and its disclaimer states that its “not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate information.”