Does a viral clip prove that a real-life Ronald McDonald committed a series of 19th century child murders decades before becoming a fast-food chain's mascot? No, that's not true: The rumor originated from an account that labels its content as AI-generated. No credible news organizations reported the purported story before it began to circulate on social media platforms in August 2025.
The claim appeared in a reel (archived here) published on Facebook on August 11, 2025. Its description read:
The real Ronald McDonald wasn't selling burgers. He was hunting children.This is the dark true crime origin behind the fast-food mascot--twelve kids vanished before the summer of 1892 was over.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Lead Stories screenshot of a post by the Inspector Crimes account on Facebook.com)
The account (archived here) that published the claim, however, carries a disclaimer saying that what it posts is not authentic videos. It read:
🔍 AI-Inspirational Crafted Stories
🎭 AI-driven Experiences
🌌 Having Fun with AI. #AICreation
Searches on Google News (archived here) and Yahoo News (archived here) showed no credible reports about a murderous origin of the mascot.
