Good morning. Today, online misinformation aims to link Coke with ICE enforcement; a new algorithm tells Starbucks baristas which drinks to make first; and Meta steps up its challenge to OpenAI. 

Coca-Cola’s first-quarter sales included from a pullback by Hispanic consumers, who might have been influenced by misinformation circulating in social media, Laura Cooper and Denny Jacob report.

A video circulating online purported to show that the company called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help remove undocumented workers, an allegation that a Coca-Cola spokesman called untrue.

“It wasn’t the first piece of misinformation or disinformation or anything else nefarious about the Coca-Cola brand, and I am sure it won’t be the last,” CEO James Quincey told analysts and investors on an earnings call Tuesday.

Coke Chief Financial Officer John Murphy said there was a “weakening with Hispanic consumers” at the end of the quarter. Affordability issues throughout the company’s customer base also hurt, he said.

To win back customers, Coca-Cola is focusing on local economic impact and being affordable through promotional pricing, Quincey said.

Starbucks says new technology is helping fix one of its customers’ biggest gripes, Heather Haddon and Isabelle Bousquette report: waiting too long for their coffee.

A pilot test of a new order-sequencing algorithm at dozens of U.S. locations has shaved two minutes off the average time to make a beverage ordered inside cafes, according to the company.

Starbucks said three-quarters of orders at the test cafes’ busiest times were completed in four minutes or less, nearing its service-time goal, while not delaying mobile orders.

The chain plans to expand the pilot to hundreds more of its 10,000 U.S. locations as it seeks to recapture lost sales and improve customer sentiment.

Progress? Starbucks said Tuesday its second-quarter U.S. and global same-store sales fell 2% and 1%, respectively. The declines were smaller than those Starbucks reported for the previous quarter.

Meta Platforms has launched a stand-alone AI app, becoming the latest technology giant to enter a field already facing intense competition, Kimberley Kao reports.

Elon Musk’s xAI launched its own Grok chatbot app earlier this year, while Google’s Gemini app made its debut in 2024. OpenAI last month introduced a platform that allows companies to create their own bots for tasks such as financial analysis and customer service.

Meta’s AI app features a “Discover feed,” where users can share and explore how others use AI. It doesn’t currently have access to the web or real-time information.

“This is the beginning of what’s going to be a long journey to build this out,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.

Amazon was forced to play down a report that it was considering displaying the impact of tariffs during checkout after President Trump called company founder Jeff Bezos and the White House said such a move would be “a hostile and political act.” [WSJ] 

Nike apologized after billionaire investor Bill Ackman criticized it for using “Never Again,” a phrase often invoked in the context of the Holocaust, on billboards at the London Marathon. [Front Office Sports]

Publicis Groupe bought Adopt, the sports marketing agency co-founded by sports agent Rich Paul and former Nike executives. [Ad Age]

SportsNet New York, the broadcast home of the New York Mets, is exploring potential deals including an outright sale. [WSJ]

A Congressman who sharply questioned this year’s local Super Bowl ad by NYU Langone Health, citing the hospital’s federal funding and the cost of the ad, became an enthusiastic supporter eight days later. [NYT] 

Drugmakers have deployed lobbyists, advertising and sponsorships for minority healthcare nonprofits in an expensive campaign against pharmacy benefit managers. [WSJ] 

Olipop wants to capture “beverage goblins” with a pop-up drive-through in Los Angeles offering Cereal Milk, Dirty Protein and Spicy Pickle sodas. [Fast Company]

Sony introduced a “Karate Kid Training Simulator” on Roblox to promote its new “Karate Kid” movie among Gen Alpha kids who’ve never heard of “wax on, wax off.” [THR]