Fact Check

Is Starbucks Giving Away Free Frappuccinos to Anyone Who Yells 'Black Lives Matter' in Cafes?

Coupon scams often play on moments of crisis.

Published June 5, 2020

 (Nils Versemann/Shutterstock)
Image courtesy of Nils Versemann/Shutterstock
Claim:
In June 2020, Starbucks was offering free Frappuccino drinks to anyone who shouted "Black Lives Matter" inside their cafes.

In early June 2020, social media users shared a screenshot of a coupon that purported anyone who entered a Starbucks cafe and shouted "Black Lives Matter" would be given a free Frappuccino. But it's a scam.


The coupon circulated in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a black man whose death in police custody in Minneapolis sparked outrage and protests in the U.S. and across the world. The company tweeted that the coupon is fake, and that it's investigating.

Like other such scams, the coupon played on a national crisis. A similar scam was a fake offer of $100 coupons for Starbucks in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.

Bethania Palma is a journalist from the Los Angeles area who started her career as a daily newspaper reporter and has covered everything from crime to government to national politics. She has written for ... read more

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