FACT CHECK: Did BBC Report That Starbucks Founder Said The Company Has Reached ‘A Critical Point Of Decline’?
A post shared on Instagram claims BBC reported that Starbucks founder Howard Schultz has warned that the company has reached a “critical point of decline” amid boycotts.
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Verdict: False
There is no evidence that BBC reported on this or that Schultz made this statement. A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed that the post is false in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Some food and beverage chains are seeing significantly decreased sales compared to this time of year in 2023, according to CNN. Two of which are Starbucks with sales down 2 percent, and McDonald’s with sales down 0.7 percent, the outlet reported.
The Instagram post purports Starbucks founder Howard Schultz warned about the damage done to the company as a result of a boycott. An Instagram post shows a picture of Schultz standing in front of a Starbucks logo.
Underneath this is the text, “BBC: Starbucks founder Howard Schultz warns company has reached critical point of decline amid global boycott.”
This post is inaccurate, however. No such story can be found on BBC’s website or any of its social media accounts. There are no credible news reports from BBC or any other news outlets verifying that Schultz made this statement. (RELATED: Did Starbucks Join The Heritage Foundation As An Official Sponsor Of The 2024 RNC?)
“There is no such article from the BBC (according to my searching) and there has been no such statement made by Howard. This is misinformation,” a Starbucks spokesperson confirmed to Check Your Fact via email.
No such statement can be found on Schultz’s social media. His Facebook and Instagram have been inactive since 2022 and he hasn’t posted to X since 2019.
Check Your Fact has reached out to a spokesperson for BBC for comment.
