There are many flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Only this summer the list began to include chocolate and chips or, for example. ice cream with chocolate chips in the shape of a fish. But this is not the news that is being shared on social media.

The most recent viral image shows a regular Ben & Jerry’s ice cream carton, but with a big difference. In the background, the landscape is familiar, a blue sky cut by white clouds, a light green lawn with a cow on top. But in the place where the flavors usually appear appears a package of red Marlboro tobacco.

According to content published on social networks, the flavor of this ice cream is Marlboro Red tobacco. At the top of the package you can read a provocation: “Every child’s favorite”. At the bottom is a short description of the ingredients used to make the tobacco-flavored ice cream:“Tobacco ice cream with cotton filters, battery acid for flavor, rat poison for texture.”

Although the content was strange, many users believed that the image was real. Nevertheless, the image is manipulated. Neither on the official website, nor on the Ben & Jerry’s Social Media Pagesthere is some information about an ice cream flavored with tobacco or Marlboro.

The list of flavors has, in fact, some novelties: a flavor of chocolate and chips, the “a chip happens”; mint ice cream with chocolate chips, the “Wonderland”; and even a chocolate ice cream with pieces of marshmallow, caramel and chocolate in the shape of a fish, the “phish food”. But again: nothing about tobacco or Marlboro.

There are other obvious signs of manipulation for a closer look: the usual phrase “Vermont’s Finest” has been replaced with the phrase: “Every kid’s favorite.”

Controversial ice cream brand?

In July 2021, the ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s announced that it would stop selling its products in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. Continuing to do so was deemed “inconsistent” with the brand’s values. However, the brand was accused of anti-Semitism by some sectors of Israeli society.

It is not surprising that the company, based in the State of Vermont, in the United States, takes an active political position, for example, in advertising campaigns.

In Portugal, the company participated in the “Don’t be Vanilla and Vai Votar – a Ben & Jerry’s board” campaign, where the brand appealed to young people to vote in the elections on January 30 this year with messages such as: “A world where the only flavor… is vanilla? On January 30, Ben & Jerry’s asks Don’t Be Vanilla and Vote!

conclusion

While Ben & Jerry’s has no problem taking risks with well-defined political positions or innovative flavors, it’s not true that it has created and sold a tobacco flavor in partnership with Marlboro. There is no information about it on the brand’s official website, nor any official communication to confirm it.

In addition, there are indications that the image is manipulated, as it lacks some of the elements that are always part of the standard packaging of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Thus, according to the Observer classification, this content is:

In the Facebook classification system this content is:

FAKE: The main content claims are factually inaccurate. This option typically matches “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.

NOTE: This content was curated by The Observer as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.