FACT CHECK: No, Ben & Jerry’s Did Not Release A Marlboro Red Ice Cream Flavor
An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a new, Marlboro Red cigarette flavor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Verdict: False
The image has been digitally manipulated. There is no evidence Ben & Jerry’s has released this flavor of ice cream.
Fact Check:
The Facebook image shows what appears to be a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with text that reads, “Every Kid’s Favorite,” and “Marlboro Red.” The pint shows a large box of Marlboro Red cigarettes, as well as a cow holding two smaller boxes of the cigarettes. Text at the bottom of the pint describes the ice cream as: “Tobacco ice cream with cotton filters, battery acid to taste, rat poison for texture and formaldehyde to preserve.”
There is no Marlboro Red flavored ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s. Check Your Fact searched the ice cream brand’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, but found no announcement of such a flavor. A search of the “Press” section of the Ben & Jerry’s website, as well as its comprehensive list of flavors, likewise turned up no mention of the cigarette-flavored ice cream.
Furthermore, the ice cream pint in the image is missing the text “Vermont’s finest,” which is typically found at the top of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream containers. (RELATED: Did Ben & Jerry’s Release A New Ice Cream Flavor In Honor Of Joseph Rosenbaum?)
Laura Peterson, public relations manager of Ben & Jerry’s, confirmed in an email to Check Your Fact that, “This is not a Ben & Jerry’s product.”
A reverse image search revealed the fake image has been circulating online since at least 2019 when it was shared in a meme group on Reddit. While it was originally shared in a meme group, the Facebook post does not mention the satirical source of the image.
This is not the first time social media users have shared a fake Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor. In November, Check Your Fact debunked the baseless claim that Ben & Jerry’s released an ice cream flavor in honor of Joseph Rosenbaum.