The purported receipt, dated March 2, 2026, displayed two orders of petite-size prime rib dinners costing $28 each. The itemized receipt totals $71.11 — $56 for the food, a $10.08 service charge, $5.03 in tax and a customer-drawn line declining an "optional tip." The bottom of the receipt read, "All F & B purchases are subject to an automatic service charge. The service charge is not a tip or gratuity."
(MxrkJunior/Facebook)
Facebook user and online creator MxrkJunior posted (archived) the supposed receipt image along with its alleged story on March 17. The post began as follows:
I've been serving for eight years. Last night I had a table of two. Prime rib, drinks, the works. Their bill was $71.11. They paid the automatic service charge of $10.08 and left the tip line blank.
The receipt clearly says the service charge is not a tip. Not gratuity. Not for me. It goes to the house. I get $2.13 an hour plus whatever people decide I'm worth.
They looked me in the eye when I checked on them. Said everything was great. Smiled when I boxed their leftovers. Then they signed and left me nothing.
Am I wrong for being furious? For knowing that $10.08 doesn't pay my rent? For understanding that "optional tip" really means "optional if you don't care whether your server eats this week"?
The posts' high number of comments — more than 14,000, as of this writing — showed users debating a number of different things about the receipt. Some said they would decline to add a tip if they received such a service charge. Others debated why a restaurant would not consider a service charge a tip or gratuity for servers, as well as the fact that the tip line featured a word not often found on receipts: "optional."
In short, the receipt was fake and generated with artificial intelligence.
Snopes emailed MxrkJunior to ask about his content, such as whether he makes money from posts — including those about fake restaurant receipts. We will update this article if we receive further information.
How we confirmed the receipt was AI
With a prompt, the Google Gemini AI tool SynthID Detector scanned the image for a SynthID watermark — a hidden label Google adds to images made or manipulated with its AI platforms. The tool only detects the watermark in media created with Google AI tools. (Any user with free access to Google Gemini can upload an image or video file and simply type "SynthID," then press "Submit," to run a quick scan.)
In response, Gemini concluded, "All or part of this image was generated or edited with Google AI. This is indicated by a digital watermark called SynthID, which Google embeds in the pixels of AI-generated or edited images. This watermark is designed to be invisible to the human eye but detectable by software to help identify AI-altered content."
The image featured other signs of inauthenticity, as well. The fake receipt did not display a restaurant name, server name, beverages, table number, credit card details or other information typical of restaurant receipts.
Scans of other recent posts on MxrkJunior's Facebook page also detected SynthID watermarks, including in an image for a fabricated story of a DoorDash delivery left at a door, as well as other fake receipts.
Fake restaurant receipt bait
Fake restaurant receipt content falls under a combination of two categories: engagement bait and rage bait. The News Literacy Project once described engagement bait as "a type of social media post that is designed to get you to interact with (seemingly) innocuous content through likes, follows, shares and comments." Merriam-Webster defined rage bait as "content (usually, but not always, found online) that tries to provoke anger or outrage, as a means of gaining attention or making money."
When a user shares a fake restaurant receipt, that user touches on the familiarity of visiting a restaurant and filling out a receipt upon finishing with a meal. That familiarity leads users to comment with their own thoughts, as well as to engage in emotionally charged debates with users who might hold different opinions on restaurant practices. All the while, the user who created the post, should they have chosen to monetize the page's content, receives payment for each of those users' posts about a fake receipt for a restaurant visit that never happened.
For further reading, in 2021, we investigated the 2019 story of a pregnant waitress running to her manager after a New Jersey police officer gave her a $100 tip. That story, which was partially true, also involved a receipt.