Over the years, a conspiracy theory has emerged about McDonald’s french fries. The theory goes like this: while McDonald’s claims to offer three sizes of fries (small, medium, and large), they all actually offer about the same number of fries.
This theory is fake—as a recent viral video from TikTok user Livy (@ayeits_livy) proves.
In a video with over 1.1 million views, Livy fills three sizes of french fry containers. Each one has a substantially different number of fries.
“Mcdonalds is not trying to fool anybody,” she writes in the caption.
@ayeits_livy Mcdonalds is not trying to fool anybody😂 #mcdonalds #manager #fyp #mcdonaldsfries ♬ original sound – 🙃Livy❤️
In the comments section, many users remained skeptical, with some noting that they usually receive fewer fries than demonstrated by Livy.
“Yeah except they never get filled like that lol,” wrote one user.
“…when I get a large it’s like they used a medium to fill it up with all the damn fries missing!” exclaimed another.
“High key they never fill any of mine all the way,” shared a third. “Like always half full.”
“Next time I get a large fry I’m going to ask for a medium box so I can demonstrate to them the shortage in fries,” detailed an additional TikToker.
McDonald’s itself admits that the number of fries per size will change based on the natural variations that come with having several employees filling orders.
“The approximate portion weights of our fries are as follows: small fries approx. 80g, medium fries approx. 114g, and large fries approx. 150g,” reads McDonald’s website.
That said, portions can vary considerably from location to location. For example, a journalist ordered all three sizes from two different locations to see how the sizes varied. While a large from one location offered 100 fries and weighed 163 grams, another location came in underweight, providing just 86 fries at a weight of 124 grams.
Back on TikTok, viewers of Livy’s videos admitted that watching the clip made them hungry, even if they disagreed with her conclusion.
As one user simply stated, “Now I want some fries.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Livy via TikTok comment and McDonald’s via email.
