The verified X account of McDonald’s India, one of the country’s most-followed quick-service restaurant (QSR) handles, briefly carried a series of unusual messages on September 6, 2026, in which an unidentified person claimed to be an unpaid intern before the same account began referencing cryptocurrency wallets and a memecoin.
The posts were subsequently removed, and the company then labeled the entire episode as fake news.
The account represents McDonald’s operations in western and southern India. The first message read: “I am an intern at McDonald’s India. My boss, Amit Joshi, has not paid me for months, forcing me to take on two extra jobs. I manage several McDonald’s Asian accounts, but Amit Joshi has not paid me since December 2025.”
A follow-up message added that the person was working additional shifts in customer support and delivery while trading memecoins, and stated, “I literally starve every day because I lose all my money on them.”
A later deleted message claimed unpaid dues exceeded ₹60,000 (about $650) and that the person planned to seek community support. Those original posts are no longer live on X.
A follow-up message on @mcdonaldsindia on the morning of September 6, 2026, said the person was working extra jobs in customer support and delivery while trading memecoins, and added, “I literally starve every day because I lose all my money on them.”
Another deleted post from the same handle claimed unpaid dues exceeded ₹60,000 (about $650) and said the person planned to seek community support. Those posts were removed and no longer have a live timestamp on X. Screenshots of the messages were reported the same day by Indiatimes, published at 12:45 IST.
Messages Shift From Pay Claims to Crypto References
Screenshots that spread across X on September 6 also showed a group photograph in which one face was circled and labeled as Amit Joshi, the alleged supervisor. The account’s tone shifted shortly thereafter toward cryptocurrency-related content.
As per a News18 report, a later message from the same handle reportedly read, “Thanks, I have claimed fees!” before the crypto-adjacent posts and the initial grievance were both deleted. Screenshots circulating on X also depicted a wallet address being shared alongside references to a cat-themed memecoin.
Third-party summaries said the token was described as being prepared for launch on Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad. No independent evidence has surfaced to confirm that any such token was actually created or that funds were collected through the shared wallet address.
Memecoins are a category of cryptocurrency inspired by internet memes, cultural characters, or viral trends. They generally lack a defined utility and derive price movement from short-term community attention and speculative trading. Pump.fun, launched in January 2024, has become the dominant venue for such launches on the Solana (SOL) blockchain.
McDonald’s India Dismisses Posts as “Fake News”
After removing the messages, McDonald’s India posted a response with a crying dog image and the hashtags #fakenews and #memecoin. News reports quoted the accompanying text as, “McD admin right now: If only our actual posts went this viral.”
As of publication, the company had not issued a detailed statement confirming or denying whether an intern matching the description exists in the organization, whether a person named Amit Joshi holds any managerial role connected to the handle, or how the account came to publish the messages.
Reactions on X were divided. Some users treated the initial posts as a workplace grievance and called for the intern to be paid. Others pointed to the pivot from salary complaints to memecoin references and a shared wallet address as a sign that the verified handle had been used without authorization to promote a token.
The Handle Belongs to Hardcastle Restaurants
The @mcdonaldsindia account represents McDonald’s India (West and South), operated by Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited (HRPL). HRPL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Westlife Foodworld Limited (formerly Westlife Development Limited), a company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE: 505533) and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE: WESTLIFE).
Westlife’s own filings and website state that HRPL holds the master franchise for McDonald’s restaurants in western and southern India and has operated in the region since 1996. A May 2026 company update put the network at 478 restaurants across 78 cities.
Not the First McDonald’s Handle to Be Linked to a Memecoin Scheme
The incident carries clear parallels with a prior compromise of the McDonald’s global Instagram account in August 2024, when attackers used the profile to promote a Solana-based memecoin named GRIMACE. As detailed in an earlier report by The Crypto Times, the GRIMACE token briefly reached a market capitalization of about $25 million on Pump.fun before crashing. The operators of that scheme claimed to have taken roughly $700,000 in Solana (SOL) after dumping their supply.
In December 2024, Drake’s X account was used to promote a Solana memecoin called ANITA. The Crypto Times reported that the posts were later removed and that the token saw about $5 million in trading volume before buying faded.
Verified brand and celebrity accounts on X have been targeted repeatedly for similar schemes because short periods of unauthorized control can be used to promote newly deployed tokens to sizeable audiences.
Claims Remain Unverified
The allegations that appeared on the McDonald’s India handle, including the identity of the intern, the existence of a supervisor named Amit Joshi, the specific unpaid amount, and the plans described for a token launch, have not been independently corroborated by any credible reporting outlet at the time of publication.
No on-chain evidence has been publicly attributed to the episode, and no formal statement has been issued by Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited or Westlife Foodworld Limited addressing whether the account was accessed by an unauthorized party, an internal user, or through any other route.
The incident has renewed public discussion in India around corporate social media access controls, verified handle security, and the recurring pattern of brand accounts being used, temporarily and without authorization, to publicize speculative memecoin launches.
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