22-Year-Old Brit Used ChatGPT to Send Fake Negative Reviews

Scored Up to 4 Free Coupons a Day, Over 100 in Total

Claims of 'No Harm Done' Met with Swift Online Backlash

A British youth who allegedly used ChatGPT to eat for free at McDonald's for nearly a year has sparked heated debate online. According to a May 11 report by the U.S. science media outlet Glass Almanac, the 22-year-old, known by his online alias "Gage," co-hosts a podcast and runs an online resale community. He reportedly obtained over 100 free meal coupons by generating fake customer feedback using ChatGPT. In a podcast episode last November, Gage outlined his method in detail. First, he would collect discarded receipts from McDonald's stores or request them at the counter. These receipts contain a unique code at the bottom, required to access the customer satisfaction survey. Gage would then prompt ChatGPT to "write a 1,200-character complaint about a terrible experience at McDonald's," copy the generated text into the survey form, and submit it along with an email address. Within a day, a free meal coupon would arrive via email. According to Gage, this approach allowed him to receive up to four coupons per day, totaling over 100 coupons over a nine-month period.

However, his scheme eventually drew attention. Employees at certain McDonald's locations grew suspicious as similar complaints repeatedly surfaced, leading the company to tighten internal monitoring of its feedback system. Gage’s regular stores reportedly stopped providing him with receipts, and some locations even posted signs encouraging customers to respond to surveys with "very satisfied" ratings. Despite Gage's claim that his actions were "harmless," the online backlash has been fierce. Critics argue that the scheme could put minimum-wage employees at risk of being fired or that the accumulation of false feedback could damage a store's reputation, resulting in real financial harm.

(Korea Daily, May 14, 2025)