Following a World Health Organization (WHO) report that found that processed meats could cause cancer, bacon fans took to Twitter to show their support for the now-controversial breakfast staple.
#FreeBacon and #Bacongeddon were two of the most popular hashtags on Twitter for two straight days following the WHO announcement, reports Reuters.
Reuters analyzed tweets about the WHO report. They found that social media users tweeted 7 negative responses to the report for every 1 positive response.
On Monday, Twitter user Touch2000 tweeted, "You can take our lives but you can't take our bacon!!!!! #FreeBacon," alongside a screenshot of Mel Gibson from the movie "Braveheart."
And CNBC News anchor Carl Quintanilla put his support for bacon simply.
"If #bacon is wrong, I don't want to be right," he tweeted Monday.
The WHO report in question was produced by 22 international researchers who looked at more than 800 past studies on meat and cancer risk. They found that processed meats — which include bacon and sausage — were linked to a raised risk of colorectal cancer. They also found that unprocessed red meat was "probably" linked to cancer, but the evidence for this was limited.
