AI-generated image falsely links McDonald's to spoiled potatoes in Taiwan

What happened

A social media user using the name Xiaocao (小草) used an AI image generator to create a misleading image depicting Taiwan's Premier Chao Jung-tai holding sprouted potatoes, with images of sprouted fries and McDonald's M logo, captioned with "麥噹噹" (a pun on McDonald's name in Chinese).

The image was shared on social media as an insinuation that McDonald's uses sprouted potatoes in its fries, amid public controversy over Taiwan's decision to relax import standards for US processed potatoes.

Reported impact

McDonald's Taiwan reported the matter to police and issued a statement warning the public that unauthorised use of trademarks and dissemination of false or misleading information may violate the law.

Index analysis

The incident occurred in the context of a domestic policy controversy in Taiwan regarding import standards for processed potatoes from the United States.

Governance controls

McDonald's Taiwan stated it sources potatoes as raw blocks that are cut and frozen before import, with strict management throughout agricultural, production and cold-chain logistics stages, and conducts regular testing after import to ensure food safety.

Classification

Organizations

Xiaocao (小草) (subject), McDonald's Taiwan (victim)

Category

Misinformation and synthetic media

Industry

Media, social platforms and marketing

Country

Taiwan

Harm status

Potential harm

Intent

Intentional

Timing

Unknown

Harm types

Reputational, Economic or property

Harmed

Business

Failure modes

Deepfake image

AI systems

AI image generator

Sources and evidence