Are McDonald’s Restaurants Flipping Their Iconic Golden Arches Upside Down for Women’s Day?

The fast food chain is celebrating International Women's Day by turning its iconic golden arches into a "W."

Bethania Palma
  • Published 8 March 2018
Image via Twitter / McDonald's

Claim

McDonald's restaurants are turning their iconic gold arches upside down to celebrate International Women's Day.

Rating

Mostly True
About this rating

What's True

McDonald's flipped its iconic "M" to form a "W" for International Women's Day on social media, and at least one franchise in Lynwood, California turned over their sign for a day to do the same.

What's False

Not every location is changing their physical sign; in fact, we have only seen evidence of one.

Origin

On 8 March 2018, the fast food chain McDonald’s participated in celebrating International Women’s Day by flipping images of its iconic golden arches upside down, so that instead of forming an “M,” it forms a “W”:


Images of the inverted signage spread on social media, prompting some readers to ask whether they were real. McDonald’s corporate officials have announced that the chain is indeed flipping its iconic “M” to honor women:


We sent an e-mail asking how many McDonald’s franchises would be participating and got no response. However, we can confirm that at least one restaurant in Lynwood, California, and owned by franchisee Patricia Williams has flipped the physical logo. The Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC took aerial footage of the upturned sign:

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  • Published 8 March 2018
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    • Taylor, Kate. “McDonald’s is Flipping Its Iconic Arches Upside Down in an Unprecedented Statement.”
        Business Insider. 8 March 2018.

    • KABC. “McDonald’s Flips Iconic Arches to Celebrate International Women’s Day.”
        8 March 2018.

    • McDonalds.com. “Today, We Proudly Celebrate International Women’s Day.”
        8 March 2018.