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Grace Abels
By Grace Abels November 11, 2024

Don’t flip. Claims that Quaker Oats is bringing back Aunt Jemima originated as satire.

If Your Time is short

  • The claim originated as satire. 

  • PolitiFact found no evidence in news reports or press releases that Quaker Oats is bringing back "Aunt Jemima" branding, which was changed following criticism that it reflected a racist stereotype. ​

Did people get so fired up over flapjacks that a company flip-flopped? 

"Breaking: Quaker Oats bows to backlash, brings back Aunt Jemima: ‘Aunt Jemima is back!’" read the caption on a Nov. 7 Facebook post. The post includes a picture of a pancake syrup bottle with the old Aunt Jemima branding and a photo of the late Nancy Green, a formerly enslaved woman hired in 1890 to play the role of Aunt Jemima.

The post linked to an article that said, "Quaker Oats has officially reversed its decision to retire the Aunt Jemima brand, bowing to what company insiders describe as ‘unprecedented backlash’ from pancake lovers everywhere." Several other posts made the same claim; some got more than 100,000 likes

But don’t get sticky with misinformation — this claim originated as satire.


(Screenshot of Facebook post)

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These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Quaker Oats announced in 2020 that it would change the name of the Aunt Jemima brand, which included products such as syrup, grits and pancake mix. The company faced criticism that the character featured on the bottles was based on a racist stereotype about Black women. In 2021, the Aunt Jemina brand became Pearl Milling Co., named after the original mill in 1889 that produced the brand’s self-rising pancake mix. 

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America’s Last Line of Defense, a known satire page with the disclaimer, "Nothing on this page is real," made a similar claim about Aunt Jemima’s purported return Oct. 20: "Boycotts Work! Quaker has announced that Aunt Jemima will be back on syrup bottles in 2025: ‘Our customers have spoken.’" America’s Last Line of Defense’s creator, Christopher Blair, has told PolitiFact that the company’s parody aims to fool conservatives with fake stories most people would find absurd.

SpaceX Fanclub, another satire account, posted a similar claim Nov. 2.

Although the Aunt Jemima story started as satire, the claim spread across Facebook and X without any disclaimer. PolitiFact has fact-checked numerous claims that have originated on SpaceX Fanclub  and America’s Last Line of Defense that spread without users knowing it was satire. 

PolitiFact found no evidence in press releases or news archives that Quaker Oats, or its parent company PepsiCo, announced a return of the Aunt Jemima branding.

We rate the claim that Quaker Oats is bringing back Aunt Jemima branding because of backlash False. 

Our Sources

Facebook post (archived), Nov. 7, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Nov. 7, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Nov. 7, 2024

Facebook post, Nov. 2, 2024

Snopes, "Quaker Oats Announced Aunt Jemima Will Return to Syrup Bottles in 2025?

Esspots, "Quaker Oats Faces Growing Backlash, Decides to Bring Back Aunt Jemima," Nov. 2, 2024

Toan Canh 24H, "Breaking: Quaker Oats Bows to Backlash, Brings Back Aunt Jemima: ‘Aunt Jemima Is Back!’" (archived) Nov. 7, 2024

Facebook post, Oct. 20, 2024

X post, Nov. 8, 2024

X post, Nov. 5, 2024

X post, Nov. 1, 2024

The New York Times, "Aunt Jemima Brand to Change Name and Image Over ‘Racial Stereotype’," June 17, 2020

The New York Times, "Overlooked No More: Nancy Green, the ‘Real Aunt Jemima," July 17, 2020

Pearl Milling Company, "Our History," accessed Nov. 11, 2024

PepsiCo, "press releases," accessed Nov. 11, 2024

PolitiFact, "Don’t fall for IT: Claim that Stephen King was banned from X is satire," Nov. 8, 2024

PolitiFact, "Viral claim that Riley Gaines called Whoopi Goldberg a ‘disgrace’ is satire," Nov. 7, 2024

PolitiFact, "Shark bait: Viral claim that Mark Cuban lost $1 billion after endorsing Harris originated as satire," No. 6, 2024

PolitiFact, "No, Steelers coach did not call Pride Month ‘woke crap.’ That claim started as satire," June 14, 2024

PolitiFact, "Claim that Elon Musk is funding ‘anti-woke’ show with Tucker Carlson is satire," Sept. 12, 2024

PolitiFact, "Claim that Kamala Harris was fired from McDonald’s for stealing is satire," Sept. 4, 2024

 

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More by Grace Abels

Don’t flip. Claims that Quaker Oats is bringing back Aunt Jemima originated as satire.

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