Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s, $MCD, USA, has said in an open letter the average price of a Big Mac meal today is up 27% from 2019

The president of McDonald's wants you to know that $18 Big Macs are the "exception" and not the rule, according to an open letter released Wednesday.

Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, addressed the letter to "our U.S. fans," saying he wrote the message to "make sure the real facts are available" to McDonald's millions of yearly customers.

"Recently, we have seen viral social posts and poorly sourced reports that McDonald’s has raised prices significantly beyond inflationary rates," Erlinger wrote. "This is inaccurate."

McDonald's executives have previously touted a "laser-focus" on value and affordability after complaints about overpriced food and decreased foot traffic led several fast food chains to scale back prices.

"I can tell you that it frustrates and worries me, and many of our franchisees, when I hear about an $18 Big Mac meal being sold – even if it was at one location in the U.S. out of more than 13,700," Erlinger wrote.

"More worrying, though, is when people believe that this is the rule and not the exception, or when folks start to suggest that the prices of a Big Mac have risen 100% since 2019."

Franchisees own and operate more than 95% of all U.S. restaurants, said Erlinger, meaning menu prices are ultimately up to franchise owners who may raise prices to account for increased business and "inflationary pressures."