#FreeBacon topic sizzles on social media after WHO report
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Bacon lovers took to social media on Tuesday to express disdain over a World Health Organization (WHO) report that said processed meat is likely to cause cancer.
The hashtags #FreeBacon, #Bacongeddon and #JeSuisBacon were among the toptrending topics worldwide on Twitter for a second straight day.
Celebrities, politicians and ordinary consumers were reacting to Monday’s announcement by the WHO that eating processed meats including hot dogs, sausages and bacon can cause colorectal cancer in humans, and that red meat is also a likely cause of the disease.
An analysis of social media sentiment by Reuters found that social media participants were not happy about the WHO review.
Fashion designer Kenneth Cole (@mr_kennethcole) on Tuesday tweeted “Sugar is bad for you, Carbs are bad for you, and now so is #Bacon, but don’t worry about it, because that’s bad for you too.
Austrian politician Andrae Rupprechter (@Andrä Rupprechter) posted a picture of himself on his Facebook page with a platter of cold cuts, calling the WHO report a “farce.”
Germany’s agriculture minister, Christian Schmidt, also said “no one should be afraid if they eat a bratwurst (sausage) every now and then.”
WHO’s initial tweet on Monday about its findings — “The International Agency for Research on Cancer, the # cancer agency of WHO, classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans ( Group 1)” — had more than 3,040 retweets and 1,000 favorites on Tuesday.