Chick-fil-A diversity, equity and inclusion executive is not new hire

"We have a problem," conservative internet personality Joey Mannarino said in May 29, 2023 tweet with more than 26,000 likes. "Chick-Fil-A just hired a VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This is bad. Very bad. I don't want to have to boycott. Are we going to have to boycott?"

Image

Screenshot from Twitter taken June 1, 2023

Similar claims about an alleged new hire pinballed across Twitter and platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, seeping into news coverage and feeding complaints among conservatives that the company -- known for including Christian values as part of its corporate culture -- has suddenly "gone woke."

"Maybe the most disappointing story of the day, Chick-fil-A going woke," Newsmax host Rob Schmitt told viewers of his evening television show on May 30. "The masters of fast-food chicken hiring a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion."

Conservative podcast host Benny Johnson added in a video posted May 31 to Facebook that he would "swear off Chick-fil-A."

"So why would I do that?" Johnson said. "Well, because Chick-fil-A has now a diversity, equity and inclusion vice president who is talking about inserting diversity into everything that Chick-fil-A does."

The rage against Chick-fil-A follows right-wing boycotts in recent months of Anheuser-Busch and Target over their support of LGBTQ causes. The beermaker faced backlash in April for a Bud Light partnership with social media personality and transgender rights activist Dylan Mulvaney. Target pulled some products in May because of threats to its employees over the sale of merchandise commemorating pride month.

Chick-fil-A's website says its purpose is "to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us." The chain, known for its chicken sandwiches and waffle fries, says it closes on Sundays to allow employees to rest and worship and has historically faced criticism from the left for past donations to Christian groups that opposed same-sex marriage.

But the executive decried online as a fresh hire focused on diversity has occupied the role for years.

Vice president is not a new hire

Erick McReynolds, whose picture and title appear on Chick-fil-A's website (archived here), is the company's vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion.

He was listed as holding the title in Chick-fil-A's corporate social responsibility reports from 2020 and 2021 (archived here and here). His name and title also appear in an archived capture of Chick-fil-A's website from September 2022, as well as in the company's 2022 global impact report (archived here), which was released May 23, 2023.

McReynolds' LinkedIn account (archived here) also says he has been working on diversity, equity and inclusion for Chick-fil-A since July 2020 -- first as executive director, and later as vice president beginning in November 2021. The LinkedIn profile is verified with a work email.

In the fall of 2022, McReynolds spoke at a commencement ceremony for Clayton State University in the US state of Georgia. He was introduced ahead of the speech as Chick-fil-A's vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. The same title appears on the university's website and in its commencement program.

Reached by AFP, Chick-fil-A did not offer comment for this fact-check.

Other misinformation

The privately held restaurant chain was targeted on social media with additional misinformation from conservative influencers.

Conservative activist Jack Posobiec and far-right radio host Stew Peters, both of whom have previously promoted disinformation, joined other accounts in claiming a video shows Chick-fil-A's chief executive calling for white people to "shine the shoes" of Black people.

Image

Screenshot from Twitter taken June 1, 2023

But the person speaking in the clip, Dan Cathy, was succeeded as Chick-fil-A's CEO by his son, Andrew Truett Cathy, on September 16, 2021 (archived here).

The video comes from a conversation broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia in June 2020, weeks after the murder of George Floyd.

Floyd, a Black man, was killed when a police officer kneeled on his neck, sparking anti-racism protests across the United States.

Cathy told a story he had heard about a young man at a church revival who felt "so gripped with conviction about the racism that was in that local community, in a small town in Texas, that he took a shoe brush, and he walked over to this elderly gentleman, and he knelt on his knees and began to shine his shoes."

Advising people to be more active in how they express humility, he moved to brush the shoes of a Black speaker on the panel, saying: "And if we need to find somebody that needs their shoes shined, we need to just go right on over and shine their shoes."

AFP has previously debunked other misinformation about the fury facing Bud Light and Target, including here, here, here and here.