TATA Starbucks has shut down swirling rumors that it had roped in internet sensation and tea vendor Dolly Chaiwala—real name Sunil Patil—as its brand ambassador in India. The company issued a firm clarification on Monday, stating that there’s no truth to the claims and that the chatter stemmed from a viral prank gone too far.
“We’ve seen the social media buzz around an alleged brand ambassador. Let us be clear: TATA Starbucks has not appointed anyone in that role, and there is no collaboration with Dolly Chaiwala,” the company said in an official statement.
The confusion began after influencer Aditya Oza posted an April Fools’ Day prank featuring a doctored image and an entirely fictional tale suggesting that Starbucks had brought Dolly Chaiwala onboard as their brand face in India. The post quickly spread like wildfire, picked up by pages and platforms without verification. Some even published AI-generated summaries, further fueling the false narrative.
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The viral image, Starbucks said, “was a meme, created independently by a third party.” It emphasized that the company had nothing to do with the post and that it wasn’t tied to any marketing initiative, formal or otherwise.
Despite the original content being deleted, screenshots and repurposed versions continue to circulate, prompting the coffee giant to issue a public statement to nip the rumors in the bud.
“We believe in transparent communication and maintaining the trust of our customers,” the company noted, while also alluding to the broader challenge of misinformation spreading unchecked across digital spaces.
This incident underlines how a harmless joke can snowball into something far more misleading—especially when shared in an era where fiction can easily pass for fact.
