Viral Social Media Claims of Don Julio Fecal Contamination Rumors are False, Sources Confirm

Don Julio Tequila has experienced a strange — dare we say crappy — couple of weeks in terms of false coverage, and social media is undoubtedly to blame. On Wednesday , Fact Crescendo reported that viral rumors of the brand's tequila being contaminated with fecal matter are false, and that the spirit is safe to drink. It was admittedly odd how those outlandish rumors took off, considering the brand never gave a statement citing contamination of any sort, and the FDA never sent out a warning. Yet somehow, those false claims spread like wildfire online. A TikToker named Laniilovee2 posted a video about Don Julio with 29.4K views about a recall of the tequila brand on September 9.

"You're drinking chemicals, and that's why there's a recall," Laniilovee2 said. "Because who would ever think that alcohol can have a recall to it? Alcohol. You wanna know why? Because there's a whole bunch of bullcrap in it. And people are getting drunk off it."

Laniilovee2's video wasn't the only clip spreading misinformation about Don Julio's tequila on TikTok. Another video with 840,000 views from Juicyguac took off on the social platform, claiming she saw on "the news" that Don Julio, Patron and Pink Whitney were recalled for fecal matter.

"Y'all need to stay careful," she said. "Y'all need to stay woke."

TikTok wasn't the only platform to spread misinformation about the brand, and Fact Crescendo reported that the rumor spread on Instagram's Threads platform as well.

"Don Julio is on Recall for fecal matter found in bottles..." beloved_honei posted on the platform.

It's difficult to say exactly when the rumors started, though Fact Check has linked many of them to a post from a user named malcolm_jarrod on Threads on September 8. The user posted that Don Julio, Taylor Port and Pink Whitney were "recalled for having FECAL MATTER in each of the bottles!!!" Eventually, the rumors left the social sphere, and on September 16 , outlets like Social Telecast began to report on the false claims of contamination.

"At this time, the rumors have been spreading that Don Julio has been recalled after traces of fecal matter were found," the outlet reported. "Since the news has come on the internet it has become a topic of discussion as the news has left several questions in people's minds."

This latest bout of viral misinformation is yet another example that once false information spreads on the internet, it's often difficult to contain. It's even harder to change people's minds if it's negative. Countless studies have been done on confirmation bias, which Encyclopedia Britannica defines as "people's tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs." In short, people don't like to be wrong. MIT News reported in a 2018 study that on X, formerly known as Twitter, "false news" often travels faster than true stories.

"False news is more novel, and people are more likely to share novel information," Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management Sinan Aral said according to the report.

The latest claims about Don Julio's false contamination are, though inaccurate, undoubtedly novel, perhaps offering some insight behind the rumor's viral spread. Yet one question remains — how did we get here?

Social Media and Misinformation: A Grave Threat

Admittedly, the false information about Don Julio's "contamination" offers a lighter take on an incredibly serious problem. Misinformation poses an existential threat to democracy and the stability of our society. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that social media owners, governments and politicians are considered the "biggest threats" to reputable news according to a report from The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE.)

"One of the most pressing concerns highlighted by our survey is the influence of social media platform owners," IPIE Co-Founder Philip Howard said according to the outlet. Howard is additionally a professor of internet studies at the University of Oxford.

Howard continued to express that owners of social platforms have control over moderation policies that can influence the quality of information sent out to the public. In August, Rolling Stone reported on Elon Musk , the owner of X, and his penchant for spreading misinformation online. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the billionaire tweeted that "kids are essentially immune" to COVID. 2024 is a critical year for America, and CBS News reported on September 6 that misinformation is considered a "growing threat" that could impact the results of this year's election. The threat appears to be even greater with the development of artificial intelligence, or AI. [callout-app-promo]

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on," Chief Policy Officer with The Future US Miles Taylor said, according to CBS News. "And that's definitely been accelerated by the age of AI."

The Future US describes itself as a "policy studio that forecasts the coming tech disruptions" that might happen in America. CBS reported that throughout the past 14 months, over 600 examples of fake AI-generated content including fake celebrity endorsements have been gathered by a project called the "Misinformation Dashboard." Helmed by the News Literacy Project, it is designed to educate the public on how to spot fake information. As for the psychology of misinformation spreaders, it appears confirmation bias might be a driving factor.

"They'll blow past whether or not that information is actually true because if it validates what they already believe, they're going to take it as gospel and they're going to spread it," Taylor continued.

It's enough to make anyone want to drink. [newsletter-promo]