A Facebook post claiming to be written by a black Starbucks employee named Shanell Rivers from Atlanta is a fake, according to coffee company Starbucks. In the hoax post, Rivers writes, “When you work in Starbucks in Atlanta and did the following this week.” She then runs down a list of accomplishments that she achieved during that week of work, including putting “strawberry jam (on) a white man’s bagel” and spitting “in this old white ladies macchiato.” Starbucks called this post “completely false,” and “Starbucks does not have a partner (employee) by the name Shanell Rivers.”
What Happened?
A Facebook user with the name Shanell Rivers initially put up the hoax post on a group called “White People Vs Black People (The Original)”. This post was then screenshotted on 4chan with the title, “Let’s get her fired.” The post also showed up on a subreddit for Donald Trump supporters. Angry Twitter users went as far as to try and dox Shanell River who made the post but instead revealed the name, age, phone number and address of a woman with a similar name living in Atlanta.
In the post, Shanell Rivers claims to be a Starbuck employee from Atlanta who made a list of six things she purportedly did at work that week, including pocketing $94 and cleaning the table of a “white bitch” with a bathroom rag.
Starbucks has responded to the hoax following reports on Twitter and Facebook from people who were upset about the hoax post. The coffee company wrote on Facebook, “This post is completely false and created maliciously. Starbucks does not have a partner (employee) by the name Shanell Rivers. We are working with local authorities to determine how these fake posts were created and circulated.”
The coffee company also responded to the hoax post on Twitter, writing, “These posts are completely false and created maliciously. Starbucks does not have a partner (employee) by the name Shanell Rivers.”
Starbucks issued another response, writing, “We do not have an employee by that name, and these screenshots are fake.”
The company later thanked several people who told them about the Shanell River posts, writing “We understand your concern and can assure you that this post is completely false and created maliciously. Starbucks does not have a partner (employee) by the name Shanell Rivers.”
Starbucks has already announced that they have contacted authorities regarding the hoax. Others on social media also tweeted the Atlanta Police and FBI Atlanta about the Shanell Rivers posts.
“Please investigate Shanell Rivers who works at @Starbucks in Atlanta. Admits to putting feces & blood into people’s food and drinks!” wrote one Twitter user.
Another tweeted, “Dear @Atlanta_Police, please note that this woman Shanell Rivers is admitting to past crimes and her intention to continue knowingly endangering the lives of customers based on their race. Possible hate crime.”
Who is Shanell Rivers?
Shanell Rivers is a name that appeared on a hoax Facebook post of a Starbucks employee from Atlanta. This fake post was shared throughout social media outlets on Sundays, purportedly a screenshot of a “black employee” of Starbucks who wrote a list of six terrible things she did at work that week, including putting “strawberry jam (on) a white man’s bagel” and spitting “in this old white ladies macchiato.”
Starbucks has called this Facebook post completely false and maliciously made. The coffee company also said that “Starbucks does not have a partner (employee) by the name Shanell Rivers.”
The Facebook account with the name and photo as the one in the screenshot is no longer available to the public. However, one of the photos appears in an unrelated Instagram profile. In a screenshot of another post, “Shanell Rivers” claims to be an ISIS supporter.
The viral Shanell Rivers Facebook post about Starbucks is a complete hoax.
