13 Times McDonald's Found Itself In The News In 2024

It's no secret that 2024 has been full of newsworthy events. From the presidential election to the stunning hit release of "Wicked" and the Summer Olympics, it was hard to tear yourself away from news at times. Of course, whether or not you're a fast food frequenter, you may have noticed one popular restaurant chain garnered a huge number of headline-worthy stories this year: McDonald's.

Now, the iconic franchise is always in the spotlight for some hungry fans. But 2024 seemed to be a particularly big deal for McDonald's. While some of its media presence was self-induced — the chain launched quite a few new products hoping to entice customers, for example — other stories seemed circumstantial. Who could have predicted that Luigi Mangione would be arrested at a McDonald's, or that the chain would accidentally incite an E. coli outbreak?

After such a hectic year, some may be hoping the chain sees a break from the headlines in 2025. For now, though, we're going to recap 13 times McDonald's found itself in the news in 2024.

For the past 30 years, every McDonald's location in Israel had been franchised by Aloynal Ltd. But in early 2024, McDonald's announced it was going to buy back each of these locations, prompting consumers to wonder why the mega-company would be propelled to make such a move. The answer isn't entirely shocking, and has to do with public backlash against the franchise in the aftermath of its response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

In October 2023, McDonald's Israeli-based franchises announced it had donated thousands of free meals to members of the Israel Defense Force, and would continue to donate free meals to the IDF. After the announcement received worldwide recognition, franchises from some other Middle Eastern countries (including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Turkey, to name a few) felt the need to announce a lack of support for this move — with some even declaring support for Gaza instead.

Nevertheless, boycotts ensued for McDonald's chains across the globe in response to the Israeli move. This prompted the greater McDonald's corporation to buy back the franchises in Israel, presumably in an effort to take control of the situation.

Unfortunately, 2024 wasn't great financially for McDonald's. The company suffered its biggest sales decline in four years, with the chain's overall net profits declining by 3%. Its sales have fallen in numerous countries, as well. Business was down in the U.S. (which saw a decline in both 2024's first and second quarter), U.K., France, and China, foreshadowing a potentially bleak future for the company.

Given the news we discussed in the previous slide, a report about the restaurant's fairly dismal revenue in 2024 might have you believing the aforementioned boycott was solely to blame. However, the larger reason for this serious drop in sales appears more related to changing consumer desires and behavior than anything else.

After all, Americans are being pickier about where they spend their money, especially as it concerns food. As the price gap between fast food and casual dining options becomes smaller, Americans are more likely to go with a latter option (such as Chipotle or Applebee's), where they'll get a little more bang for their buck. When seen through this lens, it actually makes sense that the company wouldn't be in the greatest financial position.

McDonald's isn't the only entity to be caught in a deluge of fiscal woes. The average American feels this pressure, too, as inflation made many food and grocery prices higher (while wages remained largely unchanged). Unfortunately, McDonald's may have overestimated the dedication of its customers; and while it's known for bragging about being able to increase its prices without losing sales, 2024 seems to have told a different story.

Consumers haven't held back in their outrage over rising menu prices, which are up by about 40% since 2019. One Connecticut franchise was blasted on social media for pricing its Big Mac meal at a stunning $18, and consumers have also taken to social media to express outrage over the $3 price tag for a hash brown. McDonald's USA president Joe Erlinger is far from oblivious to these accusations and has addressed them head-on.

Erlinger noted increases in operational costs — like buying paper products and ingredients, and hiring and retaining employees — necessitated a price increase in recent years. This seems like a reasonable explanation, sure, but not one that would bring back consumers in droves.

What's a company to do when prices are rising and business is falling? Offer new incentives to lure in customers, of course! One of the ways McDonald's responded to its sales drop in 2024 was by announcing a new $5 meal deal at the end of June. The meal deal was only intended to last for a limited time, but as of this piece's writing, it's still going strong — and has even prompted the chain to release a new value menu in 2025 (which we'll talk about a bit later).

An attempt to win back its target audience — consumers who make less that $45,000 per year, and have less disposable income than in recent years – the $5 Meal Deal gave customers the choice of a McDouble or McChicken, along with a 4-piece McNuggets, small fry, and fountain drink. This value deal seems to have been a good move. Reports indicate it's associated with higher ticket prices (meaning that orders including a meal deal averaged a higher total than orders without), and it's enticed a whopping 25% of customers since its launch.

If you visited a McDonald's location between 2021 and the summer of 2024, you may have been treated to an artificial intelligence ordering experience. But while McDonald's launched its test run of AI ordering technology in partnership with IBM in 2021, it announced it would no longer be using the tech as of July 2024.

Though McDonald's didn't give a specific reason for this move, the company did say it wasn't finished with the idea of implementing the tech. A spokesperson told CBS News at the time that it still sees "an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly." Of course, one possible reason for McDonald's removal of AI from its drive-thru lanes is the frequent glitches customers would experience when using the technology.

TikTok viewers had a front row seat to some McDonald's AI mess ups. For instance, the ordering tech would automatically add unwanted items, and in one case, it kept adding McNuggets to an order until it racked up a bill of hundreds of dollars. For now, pausing its exploration into AI ordering technology seems like a smart move, but we'd be shocked if the company didn't try to bring it back in some form in the not-too-distant future.

Have you been noticing Grimace pop up in headlines over and over recently? The character appears to be getting a lot of recognition in recent years — seemingly more than the company's official mascot, Ronald McDonald. But where did it come from, and how did it land Grimace as 2024's unofficial New York Mets mascot/bestie?

As it turns out, the popularity of the character saw massive regrowth in 2023, when McDonald's launched the Grimace shake to celebrate the character's 52nd birthday. The shake ignited a viral social media trend, with the nostalgic element bringing generations together in their love of the character. Fast forward to 2024, and it was time to celebrate Grimace's birthday again. This time, though, he was asked to throw out the first pitch at a game the Mets were set to play against the Miami Marlins.

The Mets' season hadn't been going so well, but this game was a turning point. It was the first of seven consecutive wins for the team, and its success quickly became attributed to Grimace. Since then, it's not a rare occurrence to see Grimace at a Mets game as a good luck charm and team cheerleader.

If you're someone who finds comfort in nostalgia, you're far from alone. Unsurprisingly, corporations often find ways to capitalize on the desire to be reminded of times when life seemed simpler. To that end, McDonald's announced it would launching a line of collectible cups in August 2024.

The company was hoping to ignite the excitement that comes with collecting items in customers. Each of the cups featured nostalgic characters or brands, including McDonald's itself, as well as Coca-Cola, Hello Kitty, Peanuts, Beanie Babies, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Shrek, Minions, and Jurassic Park. To get a collectible cup, customers merely needed to head into a McDonald's location and order a Collector's Meal.

The cups were intended to be limited release items, and it's unclear whether they're still available as of the time of this writing. If they're available in your area, though, we recommend snagging as many as you can before they're gone for good.

It can seem rare nowadays to find a company that isn't giving some of its products or practices a makeover to be more eco-conscious. McDonald's is no exception, and the company has even gone so far as to update its iconic McFlurry cups to be more sustainable.

Remember the McFlurry cups of old, with a square plastic spoon and plastic-domed lid? It's no secret by now where all that plastic ends up when consumers dispose of it, and contributing to plastic waste certainly wasn't doing the company any favors. With that in mind, McFlurry cups (and spoons) got a new look starting September 10, 2024. The cups now feature a four-flap cup — eliminating the need for a separate lid entirely — and the square plastic spoons have been swapped out for a smaller spoon that doesn't use as much plastic.

That's not the only thing the company is doing to recreate its McFlurries, though. McDonald's has also introduced a new mini McFlurry size, for those times when you just need a couple bites to satisfy your sweet tooth.

It's no news to you that the presidential election was a focal point of 2024. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris didn't hold back when it came to trying to win voters and seem relatable to the public, taking jabs at each other along the way. And after Harris claimed to have worked at a McDonald's during her youth, it didn't take long for Trump and his team to attempt to one-up this by having Trump work the fryer at a Pennsylvania McDonald's.

A Bucks County McDonald's location closed for the day on Sunday, October 20, where Trump was taught how to operate the fryer and fill baskets of fries for drive-thru customers. Trump also took the opportunity to do interviews with members of the media through the drive-thru window.

Now, the McDonald's brand itself claims not to support particular political candidates. However, the company is a franchise, so owners of different locations have the freedom to exercise some liberty in this area (provided it remains in accordance with guidelines between the franchise and its parent company).

Because McDonald's didn't have its best year in 2024, it only follows that the chain would be rushing to innovate in an effort to win back customers. Its $5 Meal Deal was only part of McDonald's attempt to boost sales, though. In a Good Morning America interview earlier this year, McDonald's president Joe Erlinger announced the imminent return of McDonald's McRib, as well as several other menu changes the company will be implementing throughout 2025.

Beyond the McRib's return, Erlinger announced a new McValue Menu will launch on January 7, 2025. In addition to keeping its current $5 Meal Deals, the new menu will also have in-app offers, local and regional offers, and a Buy One, Add One for $1 deal. Furthermore, the popular Snack Wrap will be making a return to restaurants.

While these changes were made with the hopes of regaining clientele, it remains to be seen whether it will work. Some fans have expressed doubts about the menu changes, saying they expect the Snack Wraps to be priced higher than they should, and wondering if the chain will actually be any more affordable.

Falling customer visits and a decline in revenue weren't the only obstacles the chain suffered in 2024. In fact, if you visited a McDonald's on Friday, March 15, there's a decent chance you never actually got your order. That day, a global tech outage impacted McDonald's locations throughout the world, rendering customers unable to pay for orders through the app or in stores (unless using cash).

Though the issue was fixed that day, an hours-long closure across many branches could clearly have a huge impact — both for the company's bottom line and its overall image. McDonald's quickly assured the public that the outage wasn't related to a cybersecurity problem or to McDonald's transition to using Google Cloud as a provider. Rather, it was a simple computer failure on the part of a third-party company. Regardless of the cause, a global outage certainly didn't provide McDonald's with any great publicity, which the chain probably could have used over the course of 2024.

Possibly the worst thing to happen with McDonald's in 2024 was an October E. coli outbreak that was linked to the slivered onions the chain uses on its Quarter Pounders. The outbreak incited a CDC investigation, and even a recall on Quarter Pounders (which has since been lifted). All of the onions in the affected burgers had come from the same supplier, and the company promptly switched to a different supplier after the discovery.

The E. coli outbreak affected customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Over 100 customers became ill, with several ending up hospitalized; it even resulted in the death of one Colorado man. Within weeks of the contamination discovery, the company had rectified the issue, and the CDC closed the case, citing no further risk for McDonald's customers.

Certainly, one of the most bizarre news appearances for McDonald's in 2024 happened when the chain unexpectedly played a role in the arrest of the suspected United Healthcare CEO shooter, Luigi Mangione. By the time Mangione seated himself in a Pennsylvania McDonald's location on Monday, December 9, images of the suspected killer had been blasted to the public through news outlets and social media. McDonald's employees noted Mangione's striking resemblance to the images, joking with each other about how he looked like the pictures they'd seen online.

Soon, an employee called the police to report the suspected individual may be at their McDonald's location; the police swiftly arrived, arresting Mangione at the scene. They found a 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed black silencer in his backpack, as well as what's been called Mangione's manifesto.

Since the arrest, Mangione has been charged with murder. And while it's certainly an unexpected role for McDonald's to have played in the many events of 2024, it's one we'll likely be remembering for years to come.