Social media users are sharing a quote they attribute to Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, allegedly in response to a “boycott” against the company. There is no evidence that Quincey made such a statement. A company spokesman said the quote was fabricated.
Most repetitions of the claim read: “When asked about the boycott of Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, he said: ‘A few right-wingers will not affect our core. ‘Facebook posts with the claim shared hundreds of times can be seen here, here, here.
Reuters found no evidence that this quote is genuine. A Google search for the statement yields no credible sources.
The earliest iterations of the quote Reuters found on Twitter and public Facebook groups and pages date from February 23 (here) (bit.ly/2Mpue1L). None of these posts contain details about where or when the management allegedly said these words.
Scott Leith, a Coca-Cola spokesman, told Reuters in an email that the quote was “fabricated”.
The claim rose amid a setback against Coca-Cola after a video circulating online showed training materials for diversity leading to ‘trying to be less white’. Some users on social media attribute the content to the company, as reported by Newsweek here. Coca-Cola attributed the study material to a course offered online (here).
After the training was shared on social media on February 19 ( here ), some users started tweeting the hashtag #BoycottCocaCola (examples can be seen: here , here , here ).
VERDICT
Untrue. There is no evidence that James Quincey, CEO of Coca-Cola, said that some right-wingers would not affect our core. A company spokesman said the quote was fabricated.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.