Sisters McDonald’s has taken a severe beating in the news and on social media for the past month — for something that did not happen.

Source: McDonald’s did not turn away firefighters – Nugget News

A social media post by a girlfriend of a firefighter – due to misunderstanding of what happened – was used as the source for a news report falsely claiming a McDonald’s refused service to wildland firefighters.

Bend, Oregon TV station KTVZ reported this fake and false story, and it went nationwide. Youtube videos and countless fake social media posts amplified the fake news story. This in turn led to threats against the restaurant, which now has extra patrols from the Sheriff. Three staff quit due to the vitriol fired at them – for an event that did not happen.

This story is in my backyard. I had seen the original reports. Shame on KTVZ. I no longer considered them a reliable source for area news.

The original social media post has been deleted and the original poster has retracted her statement.

KTVZ has not retracted the story nor apologized to the persons involved, or to their viewers.