Jack Posobiec, the alt-right political activist and hawker of conspiracy theories, was trending after posting several tweets in which he lamented the loss of Pizza Hut from its glory days.
On Sunday, the Donald Trump supporter and promoter of fake news–including the debunked "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory that claimed Democratic leaders ran a child trafficking ring from the basement of a Comet Ping Pong pizza parlor in Washington, D.C., tweeted:
"Remember what they took from you."
The cryptic tweet was accompanied by photos of relics from the 1980s and 1990s, including an old-school dine-in Pizza Hut location.
Remember what they took from youpic.twitter.com/oD50onGhkj— Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1652034495
His followers backed him on his nostalgic trip that included being wistful over the restaurant's plastic red cups, pitchers of coke, table-top arcade games, and toys from The Land Before Time and Care Bears.
Those were the good old days! I used to go there with my friends when I was a teenager.\n\nTimes have changed, but for the worst!— K M A\u2665 (@K M A\u2665) 1652049942
Were his followers equating the change of the Pizza Hut parlor's outdated indoor aesthetic to the decline of American culture? Who knows?
But the general longing for the past seems to be a common complaint among older White male conservatives–a notion which Posobiec latched onto with his hashtag: #PizzaHutNationalism.
#PizzaHutNationalism— Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1652102907
Posobiec continued bemoaning the Pizza Hut changes and suggested Elon Musk take over to restore the chain "to its former glory."
. @ElonMusk buy Pizza Hut and restore it to its former glorypic.twitter.com/4Xq0zsdRt1— Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1652071321
Others were left scratching their heads over his complaint.
There were many questions.
Who took what? No one took anything from me— MichaelDPerkins (@MichaelDPerkins) 1652056393
This dude's trying to connect this to partisan politics?— Zachary Sturgeon (@Zachary Sturgeon) 1652060308
What have they been banned or something?— \ud83d\ude4b John Lyman (@\ud83d\ude4b John Lyman) 1652034587
Every company in the marketplace goes often through a series of changes in order to stay competitive. Pizza Hut is aiming its proclivity towards a delivery and carry-out model and lessening its dining-in prospects. Are you really paying any serious attention to what's going on?— Kenecik is going to be an actor ("ken-eh-cheek")\ud83c\uddfa (@Kenecik is going to be an actor ("ken-eh-cheek")\ud83c\uddfa) 1652056803
Who\u2019s \u201cthey\u201d? The people who were more interested in having delivery?— Scott Grady (@Scott Grady) 1652056206
You are 36. \n\nYou were 5 when the 80's ended, 15 when the 1990's ended.— ciretose (@ciretose) 1652062074
Are you okay, Jack? Do you need a wellness check?— Allergic to GQP \ud83c\udf3b (@Allergic to GQP \ud83c\udf3b) 1652073615
People also commented on the change in dine-in trends for pizza eateries.
Sadly, people are perfectly content with picking up a quick pizza and leaving.\n\nSmaller locations \nLess employees \nLess overhead for @PizzaHut \n\nBringing back will never happen.— \ud83c\udf34VegasChef.loopring.eth\ud83c\udf34 (@\ud83c\udf34VegasChef.loopring.eth\ud83c\udf34) 1652074857
In another tweet, he posted a juxtaposed photo of two Pizza Hut locations–one that was taken from China that is well-maintained contrasted and another featuring a dilapidated Pizza Hut allegedly from the U.S.
Pizza Hut in China vs Pizza Hut in America \n\nAre you paying attention yet?pic.twitter.com/DhMml3wmx2— Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1652044748
We used to be a proper country smhpic.twitter.com/pURQCA0M9n— HARD FACTOR (@HARD FACTOR) 1652045676
But keen users called him out on his dramatic overture based on a discrepancy in his tweet.
He apparently posted a photo of a run-down Pizza Hut that was not from the States as he claimed, but from a location in Australia as indicated in a blog post in 2015.
By "Pizza Hut in America" do you actually mean Pizza Hut in Australia? pic.twitter.com/r1OlkmpPni— \u00dcbermentions (@\u00dcbermentions) 1652054614
the Pizza Hut in Adelaide Australia that as abandoned in 2011 you mean?pic.twitter.com/uJDEofdXkY— ALT-immigration Puck Futin \ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffd\ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udd95\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\udd95\ud83c\udffe (@ALT-immigration Puck Futin \ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffd\ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udd95\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\udd95\ud83c\udffe) 1652066521
Pizza Hut from Adelaide, Australia 2006. Are YOU paying attention, Jack??pic.twitter.com/bdVZlYIpta— Kim (@Kim) 1652065185
People also showed proof of how the restaurant chain is still thriving–likely due to its evolution in keeping with the current times.
There are literally 20 fully open Pizza Huts within a 20 mile radius of me. Plus, most have changed to the new look.pic.twitter.com/TaViJhuhkh— Robin Williams \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2 (@Robin Williams \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2) 1652057281
Why does anyone pay attention to Jack Posobiec?\nHere are all of the Pizza Hut locations in the Indianapolis area, all up, running and doing just fine.pic.twitter.com/l8y9uroqrA— karl m koons (@karl m koons) 1652056066
Posobiec needs not to despair, however.
A podcast from last year indicated there are some Pizza Hut locations that have retained their "classic" old-school looks.
We have an old school one out here in the sticks of Oklahoma. It has everything including buffet, salad bar, games, and even the red cups. It is like a time warp.— Dan Atkinson (@Dan Atkinson) 1652073879
Oh, goody.