Home > Life > Digital Culture

Here's the truth behind that viral quest for a McDonald's milkshake

"Hey holy shit hello"

Kelly Diamond

on April 13, 2016

Here's the truth behind that viral quest for a McDonald's milkshake

Credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

UPDATED April 13th, 5:53 p.m. ET to include a comment from McDonald's corporate.

Twitter sagas have become a whole new way to consume bizarre and funny stories. This week a quest after a milkshake has brought out the detective in everyone.

Writer Josh Raby of Nashville made a number of headlines this week after tweeting an epic saga about a one a.m. trip to McDonald's for a milkshake. The story includes bizarre characters and funny lines in an otherwise normal place -- a drive-thru.

You May Also Like

This series of tweets includes all things a good funny story requires: interesting characters, jokes and a couple comical twists.

But could it really be true?

Suspicious Twitter tales are nothing new and have been happening for years. Recent examples like Zola, an exotic dancer with a wild story of deceit, sex and murder and a woman's embarrassing poop story only add more fuel to the fire of people sharing experiences. But it also is bait for those seeking attention.

Many naturally questioned Raby's story, while others took it at face value.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Exaggeration and embellishment is a staple in storytelling, even social media storytelling, and sometimes a real situation gets muddled in the active imagination of its witness and writer.

As his story grew traction, Raby's followers went from being in the hundreds to the thousands. Various websites wrote about the story as if it were real, though some questioned its validity.

As the skepticism grew, Raby provided a photo of the meal he took during his time at the drive-thru. But that wasn't the end to his tale.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Later that day, he continued the saga with an update. McDonald's corporate had reached out to him and offered the 'Ultimate Drive Thru Experience'. This experience included picking Raby up in a limousine and taking him through the McDonald's drive-thru to retrieve his milkshake.

In a statement to Mashable, a representative from McDonald's said the purpose of this was "[To make] sure our customers have the best possible experience is always important to us and we’re happy Josh got the milkshake he wanted.

Despite his photographic evidence, Raby continued receiving countless direct messages and tweets questioning the truth.

This is when he tweeted his response to the people he deemed "milkshake truthers."

Much of his story was embellished for his followers' enjoyment

"If you are wondering what I'm getting at, this is gonna be the part of the viral story where the person tells you they made a lot of it up," he wrote.

He continued with nine more tweets explaining that while he truly was at the McDonald's drive-thru at 1 a.m., much of his story was embellished for his followers' enjoyment.

One thing is for certain though: Raby did not receive his milkshake that night, but he certainly will get one during his special drive-thru experience courtesy of McDonald's corporate.

Some stories really do have happy endings, even when they aren't quite true.

Mashable Trend Report

Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means.