KFC did not tweet an image of chicken drumstick casting the shadow of a raised fist in honour of Black History Month. The image was used to mark Emancipation Day 2020 by a regional account for KFC Trinidad and Tobago, which removed the post and apologised after public criticism.
Social media posts have shared an apparent screenshot of a tweet from the fast-food chain’s main “@KFC” Twitter handle (here).
The tweet shows a picture of a fried chicken drumstick in front of a shadow of a raised fist and reads: “I hear you, I see you and I stand with you #BlackHistoryMonth”.
While the picture was once used by a regional KFC account, the tweet shown in the screenshot is not authentic.
The image was shared by the Instagram account of KFC Trinidad & Tobago in 2020 to mark Emancipation Day, a public holiday celebrating the end of slavery (here).
The use of the image generated controversy, and as news reports covering the story at the time show, the social media post originally had the in-picture caption: “Happy Emancipation Day” (here , here , here).
It did not reference Black History Month, and there is no record of it ever having been posted to the main “@KFC” Twitter account.
Following the backlash, the post was removed, and an apology was issued by KFC Trinidad (here).
KFC did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
VERDICT
Altered. The original image was posted for Emancipation Day, not Black History Month, and from the regional specific Instagram account of KFC Trinidad & Tobago, not the main KFC account.
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