FORT WORTH -- Some might say there's no meal more Texan than one served under an orange and white roof.
Texans love their Whataburger, and maybe that's why so many stopped in their tracks when they saw a headline circulating on Facebook claiming Whataburger was soon to be no more.
The article from a site called Channel 45 News is titled, "Whataburger Announced They Will Be Closing All Restaurants in February 2018."
Immediately, it spread like wildfire as some Texans contemplated life without a Jalapeno and Cheese Whataburger or a Monterrey Melt.
"If Whataburger closed, I wouldn't eat at fast food restaurants anymore," said one man outside a Fort Worth location.
"I don't know what I'd do," said a woman as she grasped her foam drink cup.
"One, I would freak out, and two, I would move out of Texas," said another man. "It's a must, cause Whataburger, you don't get that nowhere else."
The good news is that the headline is garbage. The website is a prank, but still, enough people took it seriously that Whataburger took to Twitter to set the record straight, tweeting, "This article is a hoax, and we aren't going anywhere."
The truth is, Whataburger is growing. The Texas tradition started 66 years ago in Corpus Christi, and it has now spread to ten different states. Texas is home to the most locations by far, with Whataburgers in 264 cities across the state.
According to Whataburger, they serve some 17 million pounds of ketchup every year. That's enough to fill more than 200 semi-trucks. The demand for that product is so great, they offer it for sale in grocery stores.
Online, folks didn't take kindly to being tricked. One Twitter user wrote, "Y'all, I nearly had a heart attack."
Another said whoever pulled the prank should be prosecuted "to the fullest extent."
Don't mess with a Texan and his Whataburger. If the hoax comes round again, trust your gut. The only Whataburger that's disappearing is one you ordered.