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Quick Hit:

The latest corporate boycott targeting companies rolling back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives is set to begin this week, with Nestlé in the crosshairs. Unlike previous boycotts of Amazon and Target, which focused on avoiding specific retailers, this campaign urges consumers to boycott hundreds of household products from March 21 to March 28. Other major companies, including Walmart, McDonald’s, and General Mills, are also slated for boycotts in the coming months.

Key Details:

• The Nestlé boycott runs from March 21 to March 28 and encourages avoiding products like Cheerios, KitKat, Purina pet food, and DiGiorno frozen pizza.

• The movement follows the rollback of DEI policies by several major corporations after President Donald Trump’s call to eliminate DEI at the federal level.

• Additional boycotts are planned for Walmart, McDonald’s, and Amazon, with an “economic blackout” scheduled for April 18.

Diving Deeper:

The push for boycotts against Nestlé and other corporations stems from a broader activist response to changes in corporate policies following President Donald Trump’s directive to rescind DEI initiatives at the federal level. Many companies, including Amazon, Target, and Walmart, have scaled back or eliminated their DEI programs, prompting backlash from activist groups.

While past boycotts targeted specific retailers—such as avoiding Amazon purchases or skipping Target shopping trips—the Nestlé boycott is structured differently. Consumers are being asked to avoid a wide range of products, from Coffee-Mate creamers to Stouffer’s frozen meals and Perrier sparkling water. This more expansive approach seeks to impact Nestlé’s bottom line across multiple product categories, rather than just limiting consumer spending at a particular store.

This campaign is part of a broader wave of organized economic boycotts. A 40-day boycott of Target was launched last week, intentionally aligning with Lent, a religious period of fasting leading up to Easter. Additionally, Amazon is facing another boycott in May following one that concluded recently.

Nestlé is far from the last target. Activists have mapped out additional boycotts for General Mills (April 21-28), McDonald’s (June 24-30), and an Independence Day boycott on July 4. These efforts appear to be designed for maximum financial pressure, with coordinated economic “blackouts” meant to disrupt revenue streams at key moments throughout the year.

As these corporate boycotts continue, companies may be forced to decide between maintaining DEI initiatives to appease activists or rolling them back to avoid alienating a different segment of their customer base. With President Trump advocating against DEI policies, businesses that comply with his agenda may find themselves the target of an increasingly organized opposition.

   Catherine Herridge

We Obtain Internal FBI DEI Guide On Managing Unconscious Bias

Separately, as part of our investigation, recently retired FBI agents said they saw, firsthand, how law enforcement capabilities were compromised because merit took a backseat to DEI priorities. They dubbed the legendary FBI Quantico Training Academy the “Participation Academy” because of headquarter’s pressure to “push through” poorly performing candidates to meet their DEI objectives. The retired agents said FBI Director Patel inherits a workforce where standards dropped impacting physical fitness of agents, their firearms skills as well as professional qualifications, putting the FBI mission and safety at risk. DEEP DIVE More than a half dozen recently retired FBI agents agreed to speak with me on a confidential basis.  They said they feared retaliation for describing their experiences with the FBI’s DEI initiatives. While fiercely loyal to the bureau, they said they felt compelled to come forward, citing a dangerous reduction in standards that they believe endanger agents and the public. The group of retired agents was diverse.  It included male, female, Asian, Black and White agents from field offices in different parts of the country.  Their work experience covered multiple facets of the recruitment and training process. Everyone I spoke with offered a first hand account of DEI’s impact. FBI DEI Guide Defines “Unconscious Bias” The retired agents told me they valued diversity because it could strengthen the FBI mission but in recent years, the agents said FBI leadership took the attitude the bureau was “too White.”   The decline, they said, began under FBI Director Mueller who made the DC Headquarters his focus.  They said it accelerated under FBI Director Comey. They blamed Director Wray for standing by as the “train wreck happened.” “Ways To Manage Your Unconscious Bias” I was told that the physical fitness performance of candidates declined. The requirements include timed sit-ups (1 minute), timed 300-m sprint, untimed push-up maximum and timed 1.5 mile run. The retired agents described recruits who had an “attitude problem.” The recruits would quit the long distance run or claim injuries if they thought they would not pass a requirement.   The number of successfully completed push ups was routinely low because many recruits didn’t have the skill or strength to follow the required protocol (i.e bad form, not low enough.) What I learned about firearms training was also concerning.  I was told some recruits lacked the “mental toughness” to competently handle guns. Other candidates had documented mental health issues.  While their performance was poor, there was a “push them through Quantico attitude.” The backbone of FBI investigations is a witness interview summary known as a “302.”  In some cases, new agents lacked basic writing skills to complete a 302, in part, because work experience requirements had been relaxed.  Once poor performing recruits were “pushed through Quantico,” the hope was that FBI Field Offices would fix them. While the retired agents said diversity was valuable to the bureau it had taken precedence over merit. They said they looked up to the FBI when they joined and are hopeful Director Patel can restore and reverse this decline. These retired FBI agents are solution oriented and respectfully asked if Director Patel would be willing to meet with them because they understand where the change needs to happen internally. Describing how “woke broke the FBI,” one of the agents shared the wrenching personal decision to discourage their child from following in their professional footsteps. Something that would have been inconceivable during most of their time with the Bureau. FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said, ““Director Patel’s new FBI will be an entirely mission focused institution — working every day to get criminals off our streets, keep the American people safe, and let good agents be good agents. We are aggressively working to abide by any Presidential directive to root out politically motivated, social engineering projects — they have zero home here and never will as long as Director Patel is at the helm.” We are making this exclusive reporting free.   The full FBI DEI workplace guide is available to our subscribers.

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