# KFC "FCK" apology

> An apology placed in 2 newspapers spread through readers' posts and news coverage.

- Owner: KFC UK & Ireland
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Food & beverage
- Seed date: 2018-02-23
- Peak proxy date: Week of Feb 23, 2018
- Date basis: Proxy date; not a directly measured attention peak. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 41 (Notable, provisional), v1.3
- Mechanics: Transgression, Newsjacking, Response chain, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

KFC bought newspaper space to apologise for a chicken shortage. Readers posted the altered bucket on Twitter and press reproduced it. YouGov found purchase consideration unchanged; full menus returned in May.

## Timeline

- 2018-02-23 — KFC UK & Ireland (Press) — KFC placed Mother's FCK apology in The Sun and Metro.
- 2018-02-23 — Metro (Press) — Metro reported Twitter praise for the apology and reproduced the ad.
- 2018-02-23 — @misschibs and @bdkjones (X) — Miss Chibs and Bryan Jones shared the apology with comments praising it.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/kfc-fck-apology

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “KFC "FCK" apology.” Case HIS-01601. Spread Score v1.3: 41/100. Updated 2026-10-23. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01601