Remember that Coke vs. Pepsi scandal? We screwed up, as humans we strive to create, but fail to consume with caution.
In an essay sent out on social media (which has now been deleted), it stated the CEO of Coca Cola, James Quincey, administered a mass deportation of their workers in kahoots with ICE.
These rumors about Coca-Cola allegedly deporting its workers raised significant concerns regarding corporate and labor rights. People were not deciphering fiction from reality, as a majority of this information was coming from unreliable sources, such as TikTok.
I was conflicted as I believed this information. Coca-cola has a large influence and if they were making a statement about immigration rights, I was quick to judge them before conducting proper research.
In the beginning of February, one video in particular created on TikTok by a notable attorney for Coca-Cola, Trang Tran, shared information that suggested that a Coca Cola location in Texas deported its Latino workers in cooperation with ICE. In turn, a mass boycott against Coca-Cola commenced and Pepsi flew off of shelves.
As of recent debate and update, many different sources have been pointing into the direction that this had been a “fabricated issue,” and “untrue,” following false claims and AI generated material. Fact checkers on social media platforms, content creators, as well as a spokesperson for Coca-Cola stated, “We can confirm that the accusations against the Coca-Cola Company are false.”
AP Human Geography teacher Mr. McWhorter has stated, “…as a fact check there is no evidence that Coke deported immigrant workers.”
This leads us to question the content that we as viewers take in on social media.
A situation such as this is so quickly taken to mainstream media and reposted without a second thought. What content do we take in as true or false, what does this content mean to us, how do we use it, as well as its effects on the people and public?
It is our moral responsibility as consumers and creators to be more critical of the information we receive and share as fact. What happened to the “trust but verify”? Are we verifying? If not, why not? It is important to understand how this impacts our understanding of fact v.s. fiction.
