Following the Israeli aggression on Gaza, McDonald's franchises in occupied Palestine and around other parts of the Middle East have hurried to release comments, give money, and clarify their beliefs and political stances to customers. McDonald's, once a poster child for globalization, is now a multi-tentacled entity that evolves to match current politics and the countries in which franchises operate.

Over the weekend, an Israeli McDonald's franchise issued an Instagram endorsement of the Israeli occupation forces, announcing it would provide meals to the IOF. 

McDonald's locations around the Middle East reacted quickly with Al-Akhbar in Lebanon posting  photos on X showing the Lebanese military stationed on a street outside McDonald's, Starbucks, and KFC "in anticipation of any attacks that might affect these establishments."

McDonald's branches around the Middle East then made their own statements, emphasizing their independence from McDonald's in "Israel" and their own policies. 

McDonald's Malaysia released a statement clarifying that the actions of the Israeli McDonald's were "those of an independent market and do not reflect the values or practices of McDonald's Malaysia."

The franchise explained that individual franchises may sometimes make decisions not part of company-wide policy and stressed McDonald’s Malaysia is a “100% Muslim-owned entity" that intends to pay for aid in Gaza.

Franchises in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, and Bahrain all voiced similar clarifications.

“Well, we're a long way from the ‘Golden Arches’ Theory that Tom Friedman made famous. Global brands are in a bind. On the one hand, their customers have diverse views; on the other hand, the whole point of a brand is consistent messaging. That's why brands usually shy away from conflict,” Paul Musgrave, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Motherboard.

Musgrave clarified how the Arab boycott of "Israel" led to the expulsion of Coca-Cola from numerous countries in the 1960s. 

Musgrave believes more brands will have trouble as more multipolar economic relationships surface.

"But I also do think that brands will have a difficult time ahead as the synthesis of capitalism and American power starts to break down."