An image shared on Facebook claims Coca-Cola has discontinued its Vanilla Coke product in an effort to “fight white supremacy.”

Verdict: False

Coca-Cola has not announced that it is discontinuing Vanilla Coke. The post originates from a satirical news website.

Fact Check: 

Coca-Cola has received backlash, including some Twitter users calling for a boycott against the company, after images of slides from a diversity training session showed the phrase “try to be less white,” Newsweek reported.

An image on Facebook shows a screen grab of a Feb. 20 article bearing the headline, “To Fight White Supremacy, Coca-Cola Discontinues Vanilla Coke.” The article goes on to say the product must be “dismantled as part of the company’s emphasis on eliminating whiteness from society.”

There is however, no record of Coca-Cola announcing it will be discontinuing Vanilla Coke. A search of the company’s website showed no record of any such announcement. Nor has Coca-Cola mentioned Vanilla Coke being taken off the market on its verified social media pages.

Had Coca-Cola announced the discontinuation of the beverage, it would have been reported by major media outlets, yet none have. (RELATED: Did Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey Say, ‘Few Right Winged Nuts Won’t Affect Our Bottom Line’?)

The Facebook image appears to be a screen grab of an article published on The Babylon Bee, a website that describes itself as “the world’s best satire site.” While the Babylon Bee discloses the satirical nature of its work, some Facebook users have shared the screen grab of the article with no such warning, seemingly believing the information is factual.

This isn’t the first time social media users have shared the Babylon Bee’s satirical articles as factual. In September 2020, Check Your Fact debunked the claim that Los Angeles Lakers players LeBron James and Anthony Davis wore lace collars during a game to honor the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.