Will Budweiser brands be banned from Oktoberfest for the first time in 75 years? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Budweiser has ever been sold at the official Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, as only Munich-based breweries can sell their beers at the festival. Also, the claim was published originally on a satire website.
The claim originated in an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on April 22, 2023, titled "Budweiser Brands Won't Be Welcome at Oktoberfest For The 1st Time in 75 Years" (archived here) which opened:
Every year, millions of people travel to the largest volksfest in the world: Oktoberfest. Held in a town called Okto on the Bavarian side of the Swiss Alps, the 6-day party is filled with fair food from across the world and nearly every beer brewed anywhere on the planet.
This year, however, one major brand will miss the festivities: Budweiser. According to festival organizer Joseppi Barrona, Oktoberfest is a time for food, fun, and festivities and not for political posturing.
Users on social media only saw this title and thumbnail:
Budweiser Brands Won't Be Welcome at Oktoberfest For The 1st Time in 75 Years
The massive festival wants nothing to do with the company's controversies.
Oktoberfest: Only Munich breweries allowed
Oktoberfest, held annually in Munich from mid- or late September to early October, is the largest Volksfest in the world. A "Volksfest" is a combined beer or wine festival and fair that is usually held in German-speaking countries, with variations elsewhere in the world. The official website for Oktoberfest states that tradition only allows for beers from Munich breweries to be sold during the festival. The six Munich breweries mentioned are Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten.
Budweiser is a beer brand under the parent company Anheuser Busch, which is based in the United States: therefore, beers from the company would not be sold at the official Oktoberfest celebration in Munich. Other Oktoberfest celebrations, held in various locations around the world, do not operate under such strict rules. For example, in 2015, Anheuser Busch held Oktoberfest celebrations at six of its breweries in the United States.
Bud Light, another brand under Anheuser Busch, faced controversy in April 2023 after including Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer and transgender woman, in their marketing campaign for their "Easy Carry Contest." Lead Stories previously debunked a claim that Anheuser Busch's CEO quit after the controversy and alleged low sales of the product.
The Oktoberfest and Budweiser claim was retweeted on the social media accounts of radio show host Larry Elder and social commentator Jordan Peterson, neither of whom personally acknowledged that it originated from a satirical source.
The Dunning-Kruger Times
The Dunning-Kruger Times is a satirical website with an about page (archived here) that has following disclaimer:
About Us
Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the 'America's Last Line of Defense' network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery, or as Snopes called it before they lost their war on satire: Junk News
About Satire
Before you complain and decide satire is synonymous with 'comedy':
sat·ire ˈsaˌtī(ə)r noun: The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, OR ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
The website is named after the Dunning-Kruger effect, a term from the field of psychology that describes the phenomenon of being ignorant of one's own ignorance.
It is part of a network of websites run by self-described liberal troll Christopher Blair.
