Rumors Bolsonaro hospitalized KFC chicken

A day after his supporters attacked Brazil’s National Congress in an attack eerily reminiscent of the Capitol riots, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized in Orlando, Florida, with severe abdominal pain. He’s been in the Sunshine State for about a week.

News of the far-right politician’s hospitalization immediately flooded the internet with rumors about the cause and possible intent. Lots allegedly that Bolsonaro was hospitalized for his alleged role in the attempted insurgency to avoid extradition to Brazil. Another prominent and equally unfounded rumor is that he was poisoned.

One oddly concrete claim making the rounds online is that an American fast-food staple caused Bolsonaro’s stomach problems. A few days ago he was photographed eating at a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Orlando. Now people blame KFC for his condition.

“Thank you Col Sanders!” one Twitter user joked wrote the news of Bolsonaro’s hospitalization.

Other commented, “You should never send Bolsonaro back to Brazil. It’s way too funny his strongman cult in Brazil getting their ass kicked while dying of KFC poisoning in one Minions theme Florida Hospice.”

His COVID-19 denial, extremism and unsubstantiated claims that he lost the presidential election to voter fraud have endeared Bolsonaro to the far-right figures who have backed the Capitol uprising. The same attitudes turned others against him.

Both its supporters and critics propagate the KFC theory.

“Eating KFC will do that to you,” commented a subscriber to a far-right Telegram channel this afternoon.

A handful of people have linked his condition to Publix Super Markets. Bolsonaro made headlines after he was photographed walking through one of Florida’s grocery stores.

There is no evidence that Publix’s or Colonel Sanders’ secret recipe is linked to Bolsonaro’s health problems. A far more likely cause is that he was stabbed in the stomach during the 2018 election campaign. Since then, he has been hospitalized many times with stomach problems.

Almost exactly a year ago, Bolsonaro was treated for an intestinal obstruction. Since the stabbing five years ago, he has had intestinal blockages several times.

Eating fast food may not be advisable for someone with his medical history, but that doesn’t mean that KFC is to blame for Bolsonaro’s current condition.

There are KFCs in Brazil, so it’s equally possible that Bolsonaro ate eight-piece buckets and chicken little combos all along with no problems.

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