Dunkin' Donuts faces boycott calls following Rumble CEO's accusations

Dunkin' faces backlash after Rumble CEO alleges the brand refused to advertise due to the site's right-wing content.

Dunkin' Donuts, trading as Dunkin' since rebranding, is facing a boycott from many users on X, formerly Twitter, after the chief executive of the video platform Rumble alleged that the fast-food chain declined to advertise with them due to the "right wing culture of the site being too polarising."

Rumble is joining Elon Musk's social media company, X, in suing a group of advertisers over allegations that they withheld business from the social media firms because of the right-wing content hosted on their platforms.

On Wednesday, the hashtag #BoycottDunkinDonuts gained significant traction on X. 

Rumble chief executive Chris Pavlovski wrote on X that the company approached Dunkin' and its parent company, Inspire Brands, to consider placing advertising on the site because its audience "over indexes with coffee consumption."

Pavlovski posted a screenshot of what appeared to be a redacted email reply from the company. The screenshot did not show who sent the email, but Pavlovski's post implied it was from an advertising executive at Dunkin' or Inspire Brands, which also owns Arby's and Sonic Drive-In.

Here are the emails we received from both @InspireBrands / @dunkindonuts and @Diageo_NA

Inspire Brands / Dunkin Donuts didn’t want to advertise on Rumble because of “right wing culture”, and Diageo doesn’t want to advertise when creators like Crowder are on Rumble. pic.twitter.com/NJAHv44NuY

— Chris Pavlovski (@chrispavlovski) August 8, 2024

The social media firm alleges that advertisers organised to withhold advertising from Rumble because it is home to several prominent pundits who have been permanently barred from most other mainstream platforms.