The No. 1 trending topic on Facebook this week was a picture of a deep-fried rat someone allegedly found in his KFC meal.
The only problem is, it probably is not a rat at all, but more likely a stunt for attention. And it worked.
Here's the backstory.
Devorise Dixon, 25, says he ordered a three-piece chicken-tender meal from a KFC in Compton, California, on June 11. When he bit into one of the tenders, he said, he knew something was off.
"It was very hard and rubbery, which made me look at it," he wrote with the original photo. "As I looked down at it I noticed that it was was in a shape of a rat with a tail."
DON'T EAT FAST FOOD!!! I WENT TO KFC YESTERDAY AND BOUGHT A 3PIECE CHICKEN TENDER. AS I BIT INTO IT I NOTICED THAT IT...
Posted by Devorise Dixon on Thursday, June 11, 2015
Here is the full caption in all its caps-lock glory:
DON'T EAT FAST FOOD!!! I WENT TO KFC YESTERDAY AND BOUGHT A 3PIECE CHICKEN TENDER. AS I BIT INTO IT I NOTICED THAT IT WAS VERY HARD AND RUBBERY WHICH MADE ME LOOK AT IT. AS I LOOKED DOWN AT IT I NOTICED THAT IT WAS WAS IN A SHAPE OF A RAT WITH A TAIL. IT SENT DEEP CHILLS THROUGHOUT MY WHOLE BODY! I'VE BEEN FEELING WEIRD EVER SINCE. I BOUGHT THIS IN COMPTON, CA ON WILMINGTON AND 120TH. I'VE NEVER SEEN CHICKEN LIKE THIS BEFORE ITS SICK!!!
Since Dixon's original post, more than 4,200 people friended him on Facebook.
His "KFC rat" photos were shared more than 100,000 times, and people from all over the world started writing on his wall to say they will never eat at a KFC again.
Dixon then wrote to his new audience that he went back to KFC on Friday and complained to the store manager, who Dixon claimed said it was a rat and apologized.
WENT BACK TO KFC YESTERDAY AND SPOKE TO THE MANAGER SHE SAID IT IS A RAT AND APOLOGIZED, IT'S TIME FOR A LAWYER!!! BESAFE DON'T EAT FAST FOOD !!!
Posted by Devorise Dixon on Friday, June 12, 2015
He also posted a video to his timeline.
Posted by Devorise Dixon on Sunday, June 14, 2015
KFC has responded on Facebook to Dixon on Tuesday to say it had made multiple attempts to contact him and that there was no evidence to support his allegation.
KFC confirmed to Business Insider that it had reached out to Dixon and that it requested he send the chicken to an independent lab to evaluate the product. It said he refused to talk to the restaurant chain directly or through an attorney.
He also is said to have refused to turn over the "rat."
Even without KFC's comments, though, the situation appears suspicious. First and foremost, there's a crack in the breading where you can see the white meat underneath.
The crack is even clearer in these pictures:
There is also a noticeable lack of any bones Dixon would have bitten into if he had taken a bite of the skull as he says.
KFC also sent Business Insider a picture of what it looks like turned over, where you can clearly see the white meat poking through.
The tail looks fishy, but it could be another strip of chicken or a chicken skin that was accidentally fried.
Business Insider has reached out to Dixon and will update if we hear back.
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