Fact Check

Denny's Waitress Assaulted by Muslims for Serving Bacon During Ramadan

Junk news reports that Muslims targeted an 18-year-old Denny's restaurant server for taking orders for bacon during the holy month of Ramadan.

Published May 30, 2016

Claim:
Muslims assaulted a Denny's waitress for serving bacon during the holy month of Ramadan.

On 9 June 2016, the web site JTXH News published an article reporting that Muslims had assaulted a Denny's waitress in Round Rock, Texas, for serving bacon during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan:

A Denny’s waitress was allegedly assaulted by two Muslim men for serving pork during Ramadan.

The woman, an 18 year old that had just graduated high school, was working at a local Denny’s restaurant when she was reportedly insulted by two passers-by on Wednesday.

The men are said to have started to abuse her when they saw she was serving bacon to customers, The Times reported.

She said one of the men screamed she was a “whore” and slapped her across the face, leaving her with a black eye after she was knocked to the ground.

Police said they had identified the men using CCTV but had yet to locate them.

There was no truth to this story, however. There is no real radio or television outlet with the call letters JTXH; that identifier is purely the province of a fake news web site masquerading as a legitimate news outlet. JTXH News has previously published fabricated clickbait stories such as "Bernie campaign caught distributing LSD to youth" and "Chick-Fil-A is considering banning anyone who 'can’t figure out their gender.'”

Unfortunately, the fake news piece generated enough attention that Round Rock police and Denny's had to deal with it, as reported by local press:

An online news report described an incident involving two Muslims assaulting a Denny’s waitress in Round Rock for serving pork during Ramadan.

The only issue is the story is a complete fabrication.

The story, posted by JTXH News on June 9, states the 18-year-old waitress was called a “whore” and slapped across the face, causing a black eye. Police used camera footage to identify the two men, the story reads, but had yet to locate the suspects. The story refers to information from “The Times,” but does not include a hyperlink.

Round Rock police spokesperson Angelique Myers said there is no truth to the story. “The website is not one bit credible,” she said by email.

Alfonso Ruiz, an operating partner for the Denny’s restaurants in Round Rock and New Braunfels, said the corporate arm of the restaurant franchise made him aware of the story.

“It’s unbelievable because I’m in my restaurant all the time,” he said. “I don’t know how they’d come up with a story like this.”

Ruiz said he was attempting to contact someone at the news site, but could not reach anyone. The site does not include any contact information, and refers to its writers only by their first name. Ruiz noted that even the image used with the story is not the Denny’s in Round Rock.

The fake JTXH report also makes no sense theologically, as Muslims eschew eating pork products at all times, not just during the holy month of Ramadan. Moreover, Muslims are supposed to fast during daylight hours throughout the entire month of Ramadan, so if a few Muslims were trying to impose their standards on everyone (as implied here), they should have been upset at seeing any food being served during the daytime, not just bacon.

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