Starbucks’ watermelon mug was part of its UK summer collection, not a show of support for Palestinians

CLAIM: Starbucks has begun selling a watermelon mug to signal its support for Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war and appease those boycotting the chain.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The mug was part of Starbucks’ U.K. summer collection, which launched in May 2023, months before the conflict broke out, a company spokesperson told The Associated Press. Starbucks, as well as many customers, featured the mug in social media posts around that time.

THE FACTS: While fighting continues in the third month of the Israel-Hamas war, some on social media are falsely claiming that Starbucks is selling the watermelon mug to mitigate damage caused by a boycott of the company over the conflict.

Posts spreading online include photos and videos of the mug, which features a watermelon design on each side — green on the bottom with a white stripe through the middle and red with black seeds near the rim.

“it’s giving ‘we’re so sorry pls come’,” reads one post on X, formerly Twitter, that had received approximately 51,000 likes and more than 15,600 shares as of Wednesday. “y’all ain’t fooling us. we still boycotting.”

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In one TikTok video, a woman describes her disbelief in discovering the mug for sale at Starbucks. A caption posted with the video reads: “Are you all as confused as I am? #watermelon #palestine #starbucks #boycottstarbucks. It had been viewed approximately 39,900 times.

But the mug has nothing to do with the Israel-Hamas war and was launched months before the fighting began, according to Jaci Anderson, a Starbucks spokesperson.

Any stores still selling the product would simply have leftover stock from its May 2023 release, Anderson said.

The mug can be seen in social media posts from around the time it became available for purchase. A June 22 post on Starbucks’ U.K. Facebook page, for example, shows the mug as part of a beach picnic. Multiple TikTok users posted videos, starting in May, that showed the watermelon mug among the company’s other summer merchandise.

Colors found in a slice of watermelon, the green and white rind, red pulp and black seeds, also appear in the Palestinian flag. For years watermelon has been used as a sign of defiance against Israeli actions. Watermelon imagery has more recently become a symbol of solidarity in protests against the Israel-Hamas war, particularly where displaying the flag has been banned.

In October, Starbucks sued Workers United — the union organizing its employees — over a pro-Palestinian message on social media that used Starbucks’ name and a circular green logo resembling that of the coffee chain, saying that customers might be confused about its origin. The lawsuit was refiled in November, adding language about workers’ rights to express political views and emphasizing a desire to protect worker safety and Starbucks’ reputation.

Starbucks has not taken an official stance on the conflict, but those boycotting the chain have said they see this as a failure to offer more support to the people of Gaza.

The company says of its position on the war: “ Starbucks stands for humanity. We condemn violence, the loss of innocent life and weaponized speech. Despite false statements spread through social media, we have no political agenda.”
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.