Says Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said, “A few right winged nuts won’t affect our bottom line.”
No, Coca-Cola’s CEO didn’t say this about conservatives
Coca-Cola has drawn the scrutiny of some customers for pointing its employees to a diversity training course on LinkedIn. It was called “Confronting Racism” and, before it was pulled from the networking website, encouraged people to “try to be less white.”
Calls to boycott the company have spread on social media. So has a fake quote attributed to Coca-Cola’s CEO.
“When asked about the boycott Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey says, ‘A few right winged nuts won’t affect our bottom line,’” reads a statement that has been shared by multiple social media accounts.
These posts were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola told us that the quote is fabricated.
Searching for the quote online we found only one result: a similar Facebook post in a group for supporters of former President Donald Trump.
We found no evidence that Quincey has commented on the diversity training course, though the company issued a statement on Feb. 20 that said in part that it will “continue to listen to our employees and refine our learning programs as appropriate.”
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Feb. 23, 2021
Facebook post, Feb. 23, 2021
Newsweek, After Coca-Cola backlash, LinkedIn removes diversity lesson telling employees to ‘be less white,’ Feb. 23, 2021
Indy100, Trump supporters furiously call for boycott over Coca Cola’s anti-racism training, Feb. 23, 2021
The Coca-Cola Company, Statement on the Coca-Cola company diversity, equity & inclusion training, Feb. 20, 2021
Email interview with Debbie Ebalobo, global external and financial communications director, The Coca-Cola Company, Feb. 24, 2021
