Fake quote attributed to Lowe's CEO spreads online

"If conservatives do not like our values, they should take their money to Home Depot," says what appears to be a CNBC graphic attributing the quote to Ellison, in an August 27, 2024 Threads post. The user who posted the image adds: "Go Woke and Go Broke soon. Lowe's just lost a lot of customers."

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Screenshot of a Threads post taken August 28, 2024

Similar posts spread elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X, with many calling on consumers to boycott the store. 

Posts targeting what some call "woke" values have regularly spread online, particularly criticizing efforts to boost diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within companies, schools and public institutions. 

Many companies face pressure to scale back or cut initiatives from critics and courts, amid a wave of legal challenges to affirmative action policies. Lowe's is the latest corporation to pare back on its DEI policies.

Security company Cyabra found fake profiles are effectively spreading boycott calls on social media (archived here), subjecting companies to brand disinformation campaigns that have the potential to influence consumer behavior. AFP previously debunked numerous claims peddling fabricated claims alongside the slogan, "go woke, go broke."

The recent posts sharing the purported Ellison quote are similarly false.

"This statement is false. Lowe's CEO did not make this comment. Everyone is welcome at Lowe's," said the company's official X account in an August 26, 2024 post, responding to a user perpetuating the false claim (archived here).

A CNBC spokesperson also said in an August 28 email: "We can confirm that this screenshot is not from our air."

A keyword search for "CNBC" and "Lowe's cuts full-year outlook," as seen in the screenshot's chyron, uncovered an August 20, 2024 report titled: "Lowe's cuts full-year outlook as it expects weaker home improvement sales," (archived here). 

It includes a segment, with the original quote from Ellison: "Inflation remains high. And big-ticket purchases are being delayed as customers sit back and wait for interest rates to fall."

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Screenshot of a CNBC broadcast taken August 28, 2024

The segment cuts to a second quote which says: "It's not like we've seen a dramatic shift one way or another in overall consumer sentiment."

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Screenshot of a CNBC broadcast taken August 28, 2024

Notably, the font used by CNBC differs from the one seen in the social media posts, and the clip makes no mention of "conservatives" or other elements of the quote shared on social media. The full transcript of his remarks from an August 20 quarterly earnings call is available here (archived here).

Misinformation has also targeted Lowe's competitor Home Depot, including false claims the company donated to Herschel Walker's 2022 US Senate campaign and that the retailer pulled an Olympic sponsorship following the 2024 Paris opening ceremony here.