Starbucks

Did an article accurately report that Elon Musk bought a gift for a child whose mother, a Starbucks cashier, was "struggling to buy a gift for her daughter"? No, that's not true: An article linked in the post that made this claim included an image with clear indications of having been AI generated. Furthermore, this story has been repeated with…

Did Elon Musk post he found out at DOGE that the Pentagon spent $600 million per year on sushi, the Air Force $1,280 per paper coffee cup and the IRS $230k per month on "Starbucks Cinammon Roast K Cups"? No, that's not true: Those claims originated on a parody account that pretended to be Elon Musk. The account was literally…

Is Starbucks going cashless in the U.K. on October 1, 2024? No, that's not true: A spokesperson told Lead Stories that Starbucks does not have a cashless policy in that country. This appears to be a reincarnation of a recycled 2022 rumor that baselessly speculated about the same cash ban going into effect in October of that year. The claim…

Did Starbucks founder and former CEO Howard Schultz say the "company has reached a critical point of decline amid global boycott," and did the BBC report his criticism, as a post on Instagram claimed? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Starbucks Coffee Company told Lead Stories that this quote was "misinformation" and that there was "no record of this…

Do Starbucks coffee shops routinely add human semen to the lattes they sell? No, that's not true: This claim first surfaced in 2014 as an article on a satire website with a disclaimer identifying the website as such. The fake news story might have faded quickly except that a New York City pastor fell for the hoax and publicized the…

Is Starbucks leaving Morocco and San Francisco due to boycotts over the Hamas-Israel crisis and pro-Palestinian protests? No, that's not true: Starbucks announced the closure of seven stores in San Francisco on October 2, 2023, five days before the Hamas-Israel war began, the company spokesperson confirmed to Lead Stories. Starbucks also confirmed that the company continues to operate stores in…

Did Starbucks cancel Pride Month in its retail locations? No, that's not true: There is nothing to suggest that Starbucks, as a company, has canceled Pride Month. Starbucks has historically shown support for the LGBTQ community and has been known to actively participate in Pride Month celebrations. However, there is evidence that a tiny percentage of the company's more than…

Is Starbucks "going cashless" regarding payment options for customers as of August 2022? No, that's not true: The article seen in this particular post that includes comments made by the Starbucks CEO fails to disclose that the cashless option was concerning the 2020 pandemic -- not a permanent change to cashless payments at all Starbucks stores. Starbucks also debunked this…

Did the Facebook page Tiny House give away a home to "everyone who shared and signed 'Done' before August 5rd [sic] at 6pm"? No, that's not true: The real owners of the home have told Lead Stories that the owners of this Facebook page do not own this house and it's not in their possession. A separate Facebook user wrote…

Did a Starbucks in downtown Denver post a sign in their window that told customers it was closed to "educate white people about their racism"? No, that's not true: That sign is a doctored image that mocks racial bias training Starbucks hosted on May 29, 2018. The training was the company's response to backlash after a store manager at a…