When a controversial issue is posted on social media, it may require some news validation. Especially if a boycott is being called for.

When To Do News Validation

It already seems like an eternity ago. During the Republican National Convention (RNC), it was discovered that Starbucks was listed as an RNC supporter. Many of my friends posted memes stating that we could no longer, in good conscience, patronize Starbucks. It appeared that Starbucks was supporting the Republicans, Donald Trump and Project 2025.

A few things worried me about the viral nature of this boycott.

First, it seemed inconsistent with my experience of Starbucks as an organization. My regular Starbucks store and most Starbucks I’ve ever been to are constantly supportive of diversity, and have very visible displays during events like Pride month.

Second, none of the social media posts had links to news articles to support the claim.

Third, it would be personally inconvenient for me to cut ties with Starbucks. Don’t get me wrong, if I had found it was true, I would have dropped them in a millisecond. But honestly, I still had money on my Starbucks card and points toward free items.

Turns out that the broad claims weren’t exactly true. When I did a little bit of research, I got the whole story. They supported the first responders working the convention with free coffee. The RNC felt this was sufficient to list them as a supporter of the RNC in total. They donated no money to Republicans or the RNC.

Tractor Supply Co., on the other hand, recently made some cruel changes to their policies. And Hobby Lobby continues to double down on hateful practices. I will never set foot in either business.

Current Knitting

Added a few sections to the Sweet Surrender Wrap.

I am truly enjoying this project and can’t wait until it’s blocked and wearable.