Photos of bubble tea not authentic
Photos of bubble tea not authentic
(Reuters) - Social media users are sharing photos of a bubble tea drink and claiming that sheep feces are in demand in China as it is an ingredient in the drink.
Examples can be seen (here), (here) and (here).
The text in one post reads: “Sheep feaces is now in high demand in China because of its richness in protein. Its (sic) served in most cases with a combination of fruit juice, soya milk and other such extracts.”
Comments on the posts include: “Actually this isn’t true it comes from the cassava root y’all come up with anything to be racist and it’s sad”, “That’s not a sheep” and “There’s no way”.
The image on the top left comes from this viral video posted (graphic/distasteful warning, visible youtu.be/DVGwGzjnxNE ) on Oct. 20, 2009 of a goat defecating.
The rest of the photos show boba tea, or bubble tea, a drink made with tapioca starch shaped into balls. The drink does not contain sheep or goat feces. More information about the drink can be seen here.
The claim has been debunked by fact checkers AFP (here), PolitiFact (here), Lead Stories (here) and Snopes (here).
VERDICT
Misleading. The photographs show a popular drink called boba tea, which is not made with sheep or goat feces.
