KFC denies that a student tricked employees into giving him free chicken by pretending to be a fast-food executive

• KFC South Africa has refuted reports that said a student was arrested after pretending to be an executive from the fast-food brand to get free chicken from restaurants around Durban, South Africa.
• On Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that the now-viral story was fueled by media coverage that began with a "rumour."
• According to the original reports, a 27-year-old man entered KFC stores wearing "smart" clothing and carrying a clipboard, telling employees that he worked in the fast-food company's head office before testing food in the kitchen.
• KFC Africa's public affairs director, Thabisa Mkhwanazi, confirmed to Business Insider South Africa that the story was false.
• Before KFC denied the reports, people on social media lauded the creative method of getting free food.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

KFC South Africa has denied reports that said a student was arrested after pretending to be an executive from the fast-food brand in order to get free chicken from restaurants.

On Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that the now-viral story was fueled by media coverage that began with a "rumour."

According to the story, which appeared on the South African sites Xpouzar and Daily Active Kenya, an unnamed 27-year-old man who was said to be a student at KwaZulu Natal University dressed in "smart" clothing and arrived in a limousine to visit KFC restaurants around Durban, South Africa, to get free food for over a year.

The man was said to have told employees that he worked in KFC's head office and that he was there to test the quality of the food. He was also said to have carried a clipboard and a fake identification card to forge his identity. Reports said the student was awaiting a court appearance, and mentioned a part-time limousine driver also assisted in the so-called heist.

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KFC South Africa refuted the reports in a series of posts on social media on Tuesday. Representatives for the brand responded to Twitter users who were seemingly impressed by the story, calling it "fake news."

"Fake is as good as this story gets," KFC South Africa wrote to its followers in one tweet. "As legendary as it would be we can confirm that this is false. We haven't kept the secret recipe 'secret' for this long, only to be duped by a student."

KFC Africa's public affairs director, Thabisa Mkhwanazi, confirmed to Business Insider South Africa that the story was false.

"We follow strict operational processes,"Mkhwanazi said. "Any unauthorized individuals posing as KFC team members in our restaurants and head office would have been picked up immediately."

Before KFC denied the reports, people on social media seemed to be impressed with the storied stunt and called the man a "legend."

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