Chipotle 9/11 Ad: Fake Ad Appearing To Mock September 11 Terrorist Attack Circulates Online, Chipotle Vows To Investigate

Chipotle came under fire this week for a 9/11 ad that seemed to make fun of one of the nation’s biggest tragedies — the only problem is that it wasn’t real.

An image began circulating on the internet in the last week or so that appeared to show two giant burritos wrapped in foil made to look like the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. A small airplane made out of tin foil was approaching the buildings in what appeared to be an offensive send-up the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The ad contained the words: Never Forget… (How Big Our Burritos Are)

An image of the ad found its way to Twitter, where many people called out Chipotle for seemingly making fun of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

@ChipotleTweets Are you serious?! #BoycottChipotle pic.twitter.com/KRRSyJhgNR

— Jay Nishimura (@KingJayDuck) September 20, 2015

But a bit of investigating showed that the Chipotle 9/11 ad was a forgery. For one, a real ad making fun of the terrorist attack would not be able to quietly be inserted into a magazine, and instead would result in a major controversy. People who failed to recognize that also didn’t notice that the ad appeared to be created by someone else, printed out on a piece of paper, and inserted into the magazine.

In its weekly debunking of what was fake on the internet, the Washington Post explained, “The tip-off is that white border around the ad — see it? This is a style called “no bleed printing,” and it’s what you get from a desktop printer. Magazines, on the other hand, design for full bleed, meaning the ink reaches the edge of the paper.”

The report noted that the fake Chipotle 9/11 ad is far from new and has actually been uploaded to Imgur and circulating around the internet for a few years now. It has shown up on Reddit a few times, but most people who saw it for the first time this week likely didn’t know the history.

Chipotle is reportedly investigating who is behind the fake and tasteless ad.

@KingJayDuck We did not create that ad, so we hope that helps. We’re looking into who might have though. -Joe

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) September 20, 2015

The fake Chipotle 9/11 ad is not the only hoax to strike the Mexican food chain. Earlier in the month, a fake report circulated claiming that the entire chain would be closing in 2016 after an outbreak of salmonella.

[Image via Twitter]