



Chick-fil-A, facing a barrage of social media criticism for the company's founders' views on gay marriage, has been outed for apparently creating a fake Facebook account in an attempt to counter the debate.

Update: A Chick-fil-A rep has denied that the chain created a fake account.

The account, under the name "Abby Farle," took issue with consumer allegations that the chain recalled Jim Henson's Creature Shop Puppet toys after Henson's organization took issue with Chick-fil-A's stance.

However, this widely circulated photo, from a Chick-fil-A in Plano, Texas, shows the chain has a different explanation for the recall:

Consumers flocked to Chick-fil-A's Facebook Page to dispute the claim about a "safety issue." In response, a girl named "Abby Farle" went on Facebook arguing that the toys had actually been recalled weeks before the gay marriage flap. According to the exchange below, a Facebook user outed Farle as a puppet account, created only eight hours before. For the coup de grace, Farle's profile pic was found to be a stock photo.

Meanwhile BuzzFeed found another fake Facebook account putatively for a teenage girl, but whose purpose seems to be to defend Chick-fil-A. However, it is also possible that users created the fake accounts with the intent of embarrassing the chain. Reps from Chick-fil-A could not be reached for comment.

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, rhythmbehavior