Latest news with #TargetFast
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Black church leader calls for Dollar General digital protest, Target fast successful
The Georgia pastor who led a 40-day boycott of Target is turning his attention to another major retailer: Dollar General. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, announced a new electronic protest against the discount chain, saying it has abandoned DEI policies. Bryant says Dollar General benefits from the spending power of Black and low-income shoppers but fails to reinvest in the communities it serves. He's calling on the company to recommit to fair hiring practices, supplier diversity and community investment. The protest begins immediately. Here's what you need to know about the electronic protest against Dollar General. While it's not a boycott, Bryant urges supporters to flood Dollar General with emails, phone calls and social media posts to push for change. There is no official end date, as Bryant wants this to be a continuous effort until change is made. Bryant says that too many rural shoppers rely on the discount chain for their fresh produce and other grocer needs. According to Alabama has 975 Dollar General stores, the eighth-highest number in the country. Montgomery: 18 locations Birmingham: 7 locations Tuscaloosa: 12 locations Gadsden: 7 locations Mobile: 17 locations President Donald Trump's push to eliminate federal DEI programs has led major retailers and corporations to scale back their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In response, consumers and activists have staged multiple economic blackouts since February. The "Target Fast," which was supposed to last until the end of Lent, has now been extended to an indefinite blackout. Since February, other separate economic blackouts have taken place, with The People's Union targeting Walmart, Nestle, and General Mills. Data collected shows that the blackout against Target has been successful. According to a USA Today report, on Jan. 31, the day before the boycott began, shares closed at $137.91. By April 8, they had dropped nearly 36% to $88.76. Foot traffic has also dipped. According to data from which tracks in-store visits using millions of mobile devices, visits were down in the weeks following the removal of DEI. In Alabama, visits were down over 2% in April. On April 17, Target CEO Brian Cornell requested a meeting with Bryant and Rev. Al Sharpton. Cornell said Target plans to renew its $2 billion commitment to support Black-owned brands and businesses. Cornell says he intends to meet the goal by July 31, but no public announcement has been made, and says it expects to reach the goal by the end of the year. Contributing: Betty Lin-Fisher Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at jlindahl@ This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Dollar General Alabama protest now: Pastor demands change in hiring, equity
USA Today
05-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
The Daily Money: Were Target DEI protests fake?
The Daily Money: Were Target DEI protests fake? Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money. An orchestrated campaign to stoke tensions over Target's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives deployed fake accounts to flood social media with manufactured outrage, a new report claims. Accounts impersonating Black users actively promoted calls to boycott Target, using trending hashtags such as #EconomicBlackout. Some posts accused Target of 'bending the knee' to President Donald Trump, while others pushed specific campaigns such as 'Target Fast' or '40-day boycott' to persuade people to stop shopping at Target. Trump escalates campaign against Harvard President Trump has revoked Harvard University's permission to host incoming international students, the latest escalation in an ongoing battle between the White House and the country's oldest university. In an executive order issued June 4, Trump declared that Harvard's admission of international students represents a threat to the United States. Harvard enrolls roughly 6,800 out of 1.2 million international students in the United States. What will happen to the others? Your boss might bully you and feel good about it Horrible bosses − the ones who lose their temper, shout at subordinates and berate their work − are bad for everyone. On that point, the research is clear. And yet, some bosses continue to act out, perpetuating a legacy of managerial tongue-lashings that stretches from Steve Jobs to Gordon Ramsay to Donald Trump. A team of researchers decided to find out why. 📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰 About The Daily Money Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you. Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.
The Herald Scotland
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
A Target DEI boycott blew up online. Then came questions.
The accounts impersonating Black users actively promoted calls to boycott Target, using trending hashtags such as #EconomicBlackout. Some posts accused Target of "bending the knee" to President Donald Trump, others pushed specific campaigns such as "Target Fast" or "40-day boycott" to persuade people to stop shopping at Target. Cyabra analysts, who use artificial intelligence to identify fake accounts, also uncovered profiles posing as "conservative" voices who mocked the Target boycott. These accounts claimed they already boycott Target over its "woke" policies. While Cyabra said it did not find clear evidence that this was also a rigged campaign to dupe Target shoppers, exploiting political and cultural divisions is a common tactic by influence operations. Similar tactics have been used against other major brands including Nike, Costco and Starbucks, Cyabra spokeswoman Jill Burkes said. "We've seen this kind of behavior in disinformation campaigns tied to elections, brands and social movements around the world," Burkes said. "When fake profiles move in sync, mimic real users and amplify both sides of a divisive issue, it's a clear sign of manipulation. That's what we saw here." Cyabra said it examined the online discussions around the Target boycott after its system flagged multiple tell-tale signs of inauthentic behavior such as spikes in engagement, rapid viral backlash, synchronized messaging, high-volume posting and an unusually high number of fake accounts. Trump says he killed DEI: So why isn't it dead yet? Cracks emerge in war on 'woke' Target did not respond to a request for comment. The backlash against DEI gained momentum during the 2024 presidential campaign but hit a fever pitch when Trump took office and issued a series of executive orders aimed at eliminating "illegal DEI" in the federal government and the private sector. Target was one of the corporations to make concessions in the rapidly changing political climate. In recent months, its customers have pulled back on discretionary purchases amid growing anxiety over the economy and inflation. The company also cited its decision to scrap some diversity policies as a contributor to the sharp pullback in consumer spending in the first quarter as church pastors and other community activists launched protests, spreading word of planned boycotts on social media. Target said the boycotts dented its first-quarter performance but could not estimate by how much. The Cyabra report raises the question if the coordinated campaign of fake accounts had real-world impact on Target. A follow-up analysis of X conversations from May 27 to June 3 found that the coordinated campaign against Target continued to resonate long after the boycotts began, according to Cyabra. Fake social media profiles made up 39% of the accounts, on some days outnumbering authentic profiles. Many of these accounts continued to call on shoppers to boycott Target and promoted the #EconomicBlackout's new campaign that began this week. Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis activist who started a Target boycott on Feb. 1, said she could not comment on the Cyabra report. "I'm not on X and I know our people in Minneapolis have no involvement in this situation," she said. Contributing: Betty Lin-Fisher
USA Today
04-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
What fueled the Target DEI boycott? The answer may surprise you
What fueled the Target DEI boycott? The answer may surprise you Show Caption Hide Caption Consumer Boycotts target DEI retreats—are they working? What we know. Consumer boycotts are targeting companies like Amazon and Target, who've rolled back DEI initiatives, but are they working? Here's what we know. An orchestrated campaign to stoke tensions over Target's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives deployed fake accounts to flood social media with manufactured outrage, a new report claims. Israeli tech firm Cyabra analyzed thousands of posts on social media platform X from Jan. 1 to April 21 as shoppers vented over Target's pullback and activists organized grassroots boycotts. It determined that 27% of the social media accounts it sampled were fake and 'contributed significantly to the viral backlash.' Inauthentic sentiment surged 764% after Target's announcement to roll back some diversity programs, Cyabra found. The accounts impersonating Black users actively promoted calls to boycott Target, using trending hashtags such as #EconomicBlackout. Some posts accused Target of 'bending the knee' to President Donald Trump, others pushed specific campaigns such as 'Target Fast' or '40-day boycott' to persuade people to stop shopping at Target. Cyabra analysts, who use artificial intelligence to identify fake accounts, also uncovered profiles posing as 'conservative' voices who mocked the Target boycott. These accounts claimed they already boycott Target over its 'woke' policies. While Cyabra said it did not find clear evidence that this was also a rigged campaign to dupe Target shoppers, exploiting political and cultural divisions is a common tactic by influence operations. Similar tactics have been used against other major brands including Nike, Costco and Starbucks, Cyabra spokeswoman Jill Burkes said. 'We've seen this kind of behavior in disinformation campaigns tied to elections, brands and social movements around the world,' Burkes said. 'When fake profiles move in sync, mimic real users and amplify both sides of a divisive issue, it's a clear sign of manipulation. That's what we saw here.' Cyabra said it examined the online discussions around the Target boycott after its system flagged multiple tell-tale signs of inauthentic behavior such as spikes in engagement, rapid viral backlash, synchronized messaging, high-volume posting and an unusually high number of fake accounts. Trump says he killed DEI: So why isn't it dead yet? Cracks emerge in war on 'woke' Target did not respond to a request for comment. The backlash against DEI gained momentum during the 2024 presidential campaign but hit a fever pitch when Trump took office and issued a series of executive orders aimed at eliminating 'illegal DEI' in the federal government and the private sector. Target was one of the corporations to make concessions in the rapidly changing political climate. In recent months, its customers have pulled back on discretionary purchases amid growing anxiety over the economy and inflation. The company also cited its decision to scrap some diversity policies as a contributor to the sharp pullback in consumer spending in the first quarter as church pastors and other community activists launched protests, spreading word of planned boycotts on social media. Target said the boycotts dented its first-quarter performance but could not estimate by how much. The Cyabra report raises the question if the coordinated campaign of fake accounts had real-world impact on Target. A follow-up analysis of X conversations from May 27 to June 3 found that the coordinated campaign against Target continued to resonate long after the boycotts began, according to Cyabra. Fake social media profiles made up 39% of the accounts, on some days outnumbering authentic profiles. Many of these accounts continued to call on shoppers to boycott Target and promoted the #EconomicBlackout's new campaign that began this week. Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis activist who started a Target boycott on Feb. 1, said she could not comment on the Cyabra report. "I'm not on X and I know our people in Minneapolis have no involvement in this situation," she said. Contributing: Betty Lin-Fisher
Black America Web
30-05-2025
- Business
- Black America Web
Pastor Jamal Bryant Calls For Electronic Boycott of Dollar General For DEI Rollbacks
Source: Bossip/Getty Images After a months-long boycott of Target over the rollback of DEI initiatives, Pastor Jamal Bryant now calls for a boycott of another major retailer. The pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church revealed exclusively to USA Today that he is calling for an electronic boycott of Dollar General, saying that the company had 'walked away from DEI.' 'Target is canceled since they have betrayed and walked away from our community, and we've gone on from there,' Bryant said. 'We're done with Target, and then our next focus will be around Dollar General.' RELATED: Unlike the Target boycotts, Bryant is not calling for his congregation to stop shopping at the store because 'a lot of our family members in rural communities are at the hands of Dollar General because of food deserts that bring a whole other conversation.' Instead, Bryant is calling for a massive campaign consisting of mass telephone calls, emails, and the use of social media to pressure Dollar General to reinstate its DEI initiatives. 'Like other corporations, Dollar General has bowed to pressure from the Trump administration and rolled back their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,' Bryant said. 'Dollar General also needs to be held accountable for failing to invest in the very Black and low-income communities that make up the backbone of their customer base. This isn't just a corporate retreat − it's a betrayal of the people they profit from.' Bryant's group is calling for the retailer to restore and strengthen DEI infrastructure, create a community reinvestment fund, expand contracts to Black-owned vendors, and address systemic racism within the company. The new boycott follows a long-standing boycott of Target stores, which was prompted by its decision to roll back DEI initiatives. On May 25, New Birth and more than 50 other Black churches around the country organized peaceful protests outside Target stores to coincide with the 5th anniversary of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis. The effort was a continuation of a 'Target Fast' to pressure the Minnesota-based retailer to reinstate the DEI initiatives it launched following Floyd's death. Since that boycott began, Newsweek reports a 3 percent drop in Target's sales compared to the first quarter of last year. CEO Brian Cornell admits that the drop is due to 'ongoing pressure in our discretionary business, plus five consecutive months of declining consumer confidence, tariff uncertainty and the reaction to the updates we shared on belonging in January.' SEE ALSO Pastor Jamal Bryant Calls For Electronic Boycott of Dollar General For DEI Rollbacks was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
