Racism, Inc.

In the nineties, a rumor circulated that Snapple beverages, Timberland boots, Kool cigarettes, and Church's Fried Chicken chain were all owned by the Ku Klux Klan. Some of these products, such as Kool were marketed in these neighborhoods without mentioning the health risks of tobacco addiction. Church's Fried Chicken and Tropical Fantasy, a popular fruit drink in black inner city neighborhoods, were accused of including an ingredient that sterilized African American men. None of the rumors were true, but they were so persistent and widespread that sales of these products plummeted.