Starbucks says a viral post claiming a Brookhaven barista targeted white customers with vile acts — spit in a drink, blood mixed with jam, dog feces in a small child’s hot chocolate — is “completely false.”

In fact, Starbucks has no employee by the name used in the post on a Facebook group, the company told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. The Facebook account used a woman’s name, Shanell Rivers, and a profile picture of a black woman.

The post tore through social media, causing a headache for the company and enough tension that the store closed briefly Sunday over fears for employee safety, according to The Washington Post.

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Starbucks alerted Brookhaven police to the situation at the Ashford-Dunwoody Road location.

“The postings are currently under investigation,” Maj. Brandon Gurley told the AJC. “We are working to identify the true identity of the person or persons responsible for the postings so that we can better understand their motives.”

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Parts of the Fulton County Jail on Rice Street are flooded due to heavy rain Wednesday evening.

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office

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Cuthbert is the county seat of Randolph County, one of 94 Georgia counties that registered more deaths than births in 2024. The county's hospital closed in 2020, leaving longtime state Rep. Gerald Greene to drivce himself 46 miles to Albany while suffering from a kidney stone recently. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC