CLAIM: Bud Light created a billboard advertisement that reads, “lol CRYBABIES,” after the company was targeted by calls for a boycott over a partnership with a transgender influencer.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The Bud Light advertisement is not real, the owners of the billboard confirmed to The Associated Press. The actual billboard currently displays an advertisement for the streaming service Disney+.
THE FACTS: After a wave of transphobic commentary and threats of a boycott sparked this month by Bud Light’s partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, social media users are sharing altered images of the billboard — both in photos and video — claiming that the brand has responded to its critics.
The billboard shown in the images is located on top of a building on a city street. It features an alleged ad with the phrase, “lol CRYBABIES,” next to a can of Bud Light. Posts sharing the video had collectively received tens of thousands of likes and shares as of Friday.
“Bud Light doubles down and TAUNTS their customer base for BOYCOTTING them,” reads one tweet.
Other posts praised the bogus ad, including a tweet that stated: “I’ve never seen a better billboard sign in my life. This is how it’s done. Bravo, Bud Light & take that, Republicans.”
But the billboard, located in Toronto, does not contain an advertisement for Bud Light, an executive at Branded Cities, the advertising company which owns the billboard, told the AP. It has the same blue background as the one in the altered image, but it says “All these and more only on Disney +.”
“Our billboard was altered in the images that have been circulating on social media,” Toby Sturek, president of Branded Cities’ Canadian division, wrote in an email. Sturek also sent the AP an image of the current billboard, which features the ad for Disney+, which he said has been up for about a week.
The AP determined the location of the billboard by doing a Google search for the restaurant — Gyro Bar — which is located beneath the sign. Branded Cities’ name appears on the lower right corner of the billboard.
Anheuser-Busch did not respond to a request for comment.
Mulvaney, who is known for her popular series on TikTok documenting her gender transition, first posted a sponsored Instagram reel promoting Bud Light in early April. The video was met with transphobic commentary from conservative social media personalities, who attacked the company for supposedly turning to “woke” advertising and threatened to boycott the brand. Mulvaney’s partnership with Nike has faced similar criticism.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
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