Starbucks Confirms Dreamer Day Campaign for Undocumented Immigrants Is a Hoax - TeenVogue.com

Last week, word of an upcoming Starbucks campaign known as "Dreamer Day" began making the rounds online. The idea behind the promotion was purportedly to offer discounted or free drinks and snacks to undocumented immigrants on August 11 in order to celebrate the passion and hard work of immigrants to America. But now, Starbucks has debunked "Dreamer Day" as nothing more than a hoax plotted by hateful 4chan users.

As BuzzFeed News reports, the 4chan users planned to trick undocumented immigrants into congregating at Starbucks coffee shops all over the country on the anonymous forum, which has been previously linked to the birth of the so-called "alt-right" movement. Their plan was to spread a rumor that Starbucks was celebrating undocumented immigrants, only to call Immigrations and Customs Enforcement who would, 4chan surmised, then arrest the people who showed up. (ICE has yet to comment on the campaign.)

Other 4chan users joined in, brainstorming a name for the event and even creating fake posters advertising the fake campaign. The posters began making their way around social media, with some Twitter users only questioning their validity upon noticing that, on one poster, Frappuccino had been spelled "Frappacino."

Starbucks soon took notice of the event, tweeting at multiple users that they were not responsible or in any way connected to the campaign. "Sorry you've been misinformed. Starbucks is not sponsoring any such event," they tweeted at one user who posted about the event several times. "We're sorry you've been misinformed. This is completely false. Starbucks is not sponsoring any such event," they told another who tweeted that the coffee company was "colluding" with ICE.

Starbucks confirmed to BuzzFeed News that Dreamer Day was definitely a hoax and that they were not involved in any way. Given that Starbucks has offered several discounts and BOGO deals all summer long to promote new drinks and celebrate holidays, people who didn't know how to confirm or debunk the rumors likely believed it to be true on its face. The company has given out free iced espresso drinks for a whole week in June, and are currently offering BOGO macchiatos from 2 to 5 p.m. today in honor of International Friendship Day on Sunday, August 6.

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