Bank of America Didn’t Pledge 1 Billion to BLM
The Claim
Bank of America pledged one billion dollars to Black Lives Matter.
News posted on
Emerging story
In mid-July 2020, social media users began circulating a claim that Bank of America pledged $1 Billion to Black Lives Matter.
Some even increased the supposed donation to 2 billion.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that the allegation is false. Bank of America did announce a $1 billion pledge to help communities address economic and racial inequalities exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The areas of focus will be health, jobs/training/reskilling/upskilling, support to small businesses, and housing.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said: “The events of the past week have created a sense of true urgency that has arisen across our nation, particularly in view of the racial injustices we have seen in the communities where we work and live. We all need to do more."
In 2019, Bank of America paid out a $4.2 million settlement following accusations that the company discriminated against black, Latinx, and female job applicants.
Their $1 billion pledge to address racial inequality is not the same as pledging money to Black Lives Matter. The false claim likely originates from a Lou Dobbs Tonight Fox Business segment. Dobbs said that many businesses, including Bank of America, were pledging funds to support Black Lives Matter. Dobbs corrected his error in a subsequent broadcast.
