INQUISITR.COM / Health & Lifestyle

Dr. Pepper Hoax: Company Turns False Rumor On Facebook Into Catchy Hashtag

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 04:37 PST, Apr 23, 2016

Have you become a victim of the Dr. Pepper hoax?

There is a viral photo message circulating on Facebook that has stumped a vast number of consumers that focuses on the popular soft drink, Dr. Pepper. According to the lengthy message, Dr. Pepper has decided to cease production this year and will no longer be available effective summer, 2016.

The actual message itself reads somewhat like a press release, which is probably why so many people were misled on Facebook and decided to share and re-post the message on their own pages. The statement made it clear that a decline in sales was not the reason why Dr. Pepper decided to end production.

According to the message, it was the ongoing battle that the company endured against its competitors — a statement that should have drawn numerous red flags by itself.

“After 131 years of quenching American’s thirst, Dr. Pepper announces it will halt production in the Summer of 2016. Though sales have always remained consistent, Dr. Pepper says it can no longer compete with other soda producers using cheaper ingredients.”

Dr Pepper hoax
(Photo Source: Facebook)

After the line about surrendering to the competition, the questionable nature of the hoax message goes one step further by stating that the recipe for the Dr. Pepper soda was acquired by Coca-Cola.

“Rights to the recipe has been sold to Coca Cola Corp who says they will stop production sometime during the Summer of 2016. Dr Pepper you will be truly missed by millions of Americans!”

The Dr. Pepper hoax was officially addressed (and squashed) by Dr. Pepper on Monday, via the company’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.

Instead of composing a lengthy statement, the company apparently kept its statement short and sweet. After starting the objective “to crush a rumor,” the company further stated that “the thought of Dr. Pepper ending production and selling [the] recipe is unbelievable.”

The company took it one step further by using video footage of a Dr. Pepper soda can being crushed to illustrate the hashtag #CrushingRumorsLike.

Quite a few Dr. Pepper fans and critics were easily able to determine that the concept of the company ending production was a major social media hoax. However, many others apparently fell for the Dr. Pepper hoax — which is more than likely why the post went viral in the first place.

In addition to the red flags found within the message, the overall concept that Dr. Pepper would stop production anytime soon should have immediately ended the Dr. Pepper hoax. Consider the active promotions and marketing campaigns that Dr. Pepper has circulating both online and through televised advertisements — including the Batman v Superman can designs and “Lil Sweet” commercials.

The Dr. Pepper hoax is definitely not the first scam that has been posted and re-posted on Facebook in recent weeks. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, there are also several fraudulent coupons and gift cards circulating online from such stores as ALDI and JCPenney.

[Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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