Is McDonald’s leaving California? Rumor explained

Amid the rise of fast food prices across the US, there have been some rumors that California will be saying goodbye to The Golden Arches for good. Though, it’s not true.

Several online sources reported on this, leaving fast food fans in The Golden State distraught and fearing that they’d have to say farewell to the Big Mac once and for all.

First of all, no, McDonald’s is not closing in California. There is currently no evidence that even one store is closing in the state. So, where did this rumor come from?

Fast food prices are rising across the US, so much so that McDonalds’ CEO had to respond to the fact that some branches were charging $18 for a Big Mac.

On top of that, the minimum wage for fast food workers went up to $20 per hour in California, which put even more pressure on franchisees to make ends meet.

The tensions are high in the fast food world, especially in California, and it wasn’t just McDonald’s that was hit by closure rumors – Chili’s and Fuddruckers each had to make statements debunking rumors.

“McDonald’s leaving California” began trending on Google at the start of June, and there are YouTube videos speculating about this massive blow to California, some gaining over 500,000 views in a day.

There are a slew of articles reporting about the struggles that franchisees are facing, but it was MSN, Microsoft’s news aggregator, who posted an article suggesting that the chain might close. “McDonald’s on the verge of CLOSING in California After $20 Minimum Wage” has since been taken down.

The article posted on MSN came from a site called United Library and was written by Tony Bonnai.

The talented Mr Bonnai writes around 20 articles a day, some within minutes of each other. And as it turns out – Mr Bonnai is actually an AI-generated journalist.

A quick Google search only shows his articles, and his articles look to be ‘clickbait’ that has been AI-generated from an accumulation of other news sources.

SFGATE reported: “His author photo appears nowhere else on the web. TrueMedia, a tool for fighting A.I.-manipulated content, rated Bonnani’s headshot as “highly suspicious” for use of generative AI.”

So, although United Library and Tony Bonnai didn’t start the rumor, they certainly made it look like a legit enough issue that news platforms were reporting on it.

Yes, McDonald’s franchisees are struggling at the minute amid unprecedented inflation in the fast food industry, but McDonald’s has not announced that they are closing any of their stores.

In fact, it announced that it would be releasing a $5 value meal to help customers get their favorite food for less.

Other food chains, like Red Lobster, have filed for bankruptcy and publically announced the closure of a hefty amount of their stores, but McDonald’s is still going strong.