NEW YORK — Starbucks is not giving out free drinks to people of colour.<\/p>\n
The phoney coupons are being spread on social media through accounts that identify as white nationalists.<\/p>\n
It’s likely an attempt to stir more bad sentiments about the coffee chain as it deals with the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia store. A worker called the police on the men saying they didn’t make a purchase and refused to leave. The men were sitting and waiting for someone to join them for a business meeting.<\/p>\n
Starbucks, which said it will close more than 8,000 stores on the afternoon of May 29 to give workers racial bias-training, said that the coupons are “completely false and in no way associated with Starbucks.”<\/p>\n
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This is part of The Associated Press’ ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.<\/p>\n
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Find all AP Fact Checks here: https:\/\/www.apnews.com\/tag\/APFactCheck<\/a><\/p>\n ——<\/p>\n