A clip that shows McDonald’s employees tucked behind bars raised questions about the restaurant’s location.
TikTok creator @travel2wealthh shared an interior shot of horizontal metal bars separating employees from customers dining at McDonald’s. Footage of the physical barrier was paired with onscreen text and audio asking, “Does this mean it’s dangerous?”
The clip from Dec. 30, 2025, already has 1.2 million views and over 2,000 comments. @travel2wealthh tagged McDonald’s in the post’s caption, asking for a free double cheeseburger meal.
@travel2wealthh @McDonald’s can I get a free double cheeseburger meal? 🤷🏾♂️ #food #johannesburg #southafrica #travel #mcdonalds ♬ original sound – Traveltowealth
“It’s not even in the U.S.”
People reacting to the video chimed in to guess where such a locked-down McDonald’s could be, not considering it could be outside of the United States.
Incorrect guesses included cities like Chicago, Atlanta, and Detroit.
“Detroit for sure.”
“This comment section is hilarious. This McDonald’s is in Kansas, not Atlanta.”
However, @travel2wealthh tagged Johannesburg and South Africa in the post’s caption, revealing that the high-security McDonald’s isn’t in the States at all.
TikToker @monkeycyu shared a screenshot of prices listed in South African rands behind the metal barrier from the video, writing, “Everyone in the comments arguing over red or blue state and or which state but is not even in the USA.”
User @valenciadoss1 replied, “its really sad how people will use this to push narratives.”
Commenters were quick to use coded language, implying insidious economic and racial bias embedded in American culture.
“You only see this in certain demographic areas, just saying.”
“Don’t forget certain demographic areas shouldn’t exist and only exist because of racism. Whether it’s now or earlier was because of racists.”
McDonald’s “local approach” to protecting the communities it serves
A 2021 statement from the corporation detailed why the chain must take precautions and how McDonald’s takes “a local approach” to implementing safety protocols. According to the document, there are more than 800,000 McDonald’s employees serving nearly 25 million customers across 14,000 U.S. communities. The far-reaching brand calculated, “If there is a one-in-a-million chance that something will happen in our restaurants, then it could happen at least 25 times per day.”
Physical security barriers used at McDonald’s and other fast-food restaurants protect corporate property by reducing exposure to liability. McDonald’s protective measures, meant to combat crime, protect employees, and enhance customer safety, are implemented at locations identified as prone to incidents.
McDonalds did not immediately reply to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via e-mail.
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