Debunked: Viral social media post claims goat feces used in bubble tea in China
A viral post claiming that bubble tea is made with goat feces has been debunked.
Fake boba news: An image of a goat defecating into a bubble tea drink has circulated on social media since 2019; however, AFP Fact Check proved that the post was digitally altered.
- The goat picture, posted alongside three images of bubble tea with tapioca pearls, has been shared thousands of times on Facebook with the claim that feces is in high demand in China.
- According to AFP Fact Check, a now-deleted Facebook post stated, “Sheep feces is now in high demand in China because of its richness in protein. It’s served in most cases with a combination of fruit juice, soya milk and other such extracts.”
- Liberia Billboard was among Facebook users who shared the post, captioning it, “Sheep and goats feces are presently in demand in China because of its richness in protein. Can you drink this?”
- According to Lead Stories, the photo of the goat excreting into a bubble tea cup came from a 14-second video of a “Pooping Goat” that was posted on YouTube on Oct 20, 2009. A screenshot of the video was then edited to combine a bubble tea cup to make it appear as if the goat was relieving itself into the drink.
- The edited image was originally posted on Twitter in 2019.
- It resurfaced in November of this year alongside the three bubble tea images taken from the Instagram account of Bungbuanno. The images are from Young Tea & Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Bubble tea originated from Taiwan in the early 1980s. It blends black tea, milk, ice, sugar and chewy tapioca pearls. Today, the drink may consist of different varieties and flavors of fruit juices. The tapioca pearls are made from tapioca starch, which is extracted from the cassava root. It is cut into small cubes, rolled out and boiled in sugar syrup until they turn into the black, chewy pearls.
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