Boycott Calls Over Starbucks’ Alleged Connection to The Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 Found Baseless
In recent weeks, there has been a surge of social media outcries urging people to boycott Starbucks. The calls for boycott pivot around the allegations that the global coffeehouse chain is financially supporting The Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, and its Project 2025 initiative. The project is reputedly aimed at fortifying the government with conservative social principles and values.
The storm of accusations intensified when some suggested that Starbucks was a sponsor of the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), which took place in mid-July in Milwaukee. As the conspiracy theories about Starbucks’ involvement with The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, and the RNC flew thick and fast on social media, multiple readers reached out to the VERIFY team to ascertain the veracity of these statements.
Is Starbucks really supporting the conservative mission of Project 2025 and The Heritage Foundation? To get to the bottom of the rumors, VERIFY reached out to the people who might have the answers.
The claim that Starbucks is underlying these conservative ventures is false. The misunderstanding appears to be rooted in the company’s well-intentioned move to supply coffee to first responders during the RNC in Milwaukee. However, this gesture was made in cooperation with a nonpartisan, nonprofit entity and not The Heritage Foundation or Project 2025.
A Starbucks spokesperson tersely clarified that the company has no links to The Heritage Foundation or its Project 2025. Noah Weinrich, a representative for The Heritage Foundation, also concurred with Starbucks’ position, dismissing the allegations as nothing more than misinformation.
Weinrich’s theory is that the rumor mill started churning when The Heritage Foundation and Starbucks both collaborated independently with the Milwaukee Host Committee for the RNC. However, Starbucks’ involvement was simply supplying coffee to first responders during the event and did not include any cash sponsorship, according to Jaci Anderson, a Starbucks spokesperson.
Contrary to the rampant misinformation online, the Milwaukee Host Committee is nonpartisan and non-profit, functioning as the intermediary between the city of Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin, and the RNC. According to the Federal Election Commission, the committee’s primary mandate is to promote the host city’s commercial interests and project a positive image to convention attendees.
In a bid to reinforce their non-partisan stance, Starbucks has plans to partner with the host committee for the upcoming Democratic National Convention, set to take place in Chicago in August. Jaci Anderson remarked that Starbucks’ support for first responders and volunteers at these events reflects their commitment to the communities in which they operate.
In light of these facts, the VERIFY team concludes that the claims about Starbucks’ alleged partisan affiliations are unfounded. The team urges readers to stay informed by subscribing to their daily newsletter, text alerts, and YouTube channel for reliable updates.
