No, McDonald’s didn’t remove American flags to support Antifa and Black Lives Matter

In some corners of the internet, there are regular cage fights between patriotism and protests, with social media posts egging them on from the sidelines. But before you place your bets, here’s a rundown of some of the claims we’ve recently debunked: 

• Olive Garden has not sanctioned Black Lives Matter masks while forbidding American flag masks.

• The NFL isn’t planning to fly a Black Lives Matter flag under the American flag at football games.

• Kroger’s corporate office hasn’t banned employees from wearing American flag masks while allowing them to wear Black Lives Matter masks.

Now, a new Facebook post urges customers to boycott McDonald’s restaurants. 

Featured Fact-check

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stated on October 22, 2024 in posts on X

A photo shows The Atlantic published a story headlined “Trump is Literally Hitler.”

"McDonald’s removes their American flags in support of Antifa & BLM nationwide," it says. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

We reached out to the fast-food company about the claim and received this statement from McDonald’s USA: "McDonald’s unequivocally stands behind the need for equality and social justice, and these rumors are not true." 

In June, McDonald’s released an ad that mentioned George Floyd, among other Black people who died in police custody; the company’s recent donations to the NAACP and National Urban league; and this message: "WE do not tolerate inequality, injustice or racism. Black lives matter."

But we couldn’t find any news coverage to corroborate the Facebook post’s claim. 

We rate it False.