The Toyota USA Foundation last week announced $3.3 million in new grants for 12 nonprofit organizations supporting K-12 math and science education, as well as $1 million in total scholarships for 100 high school seniors.
Despite the generosity exhibited by the foundation, Toyota has been the victim of an email smear campaign that claimed, shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that the company did not make any donations to the 9/11 disaster relief efforts.
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, did in fact donate to 9/11 disaster relief, including $1 million to the American Red Cross and through an employee donation program the company matched.
Mike Michels, the executive vice president for external communications at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, said in a blog post last month that the email, which purported to list which auto makers did and did not donate to the relief efforts, had surfaced again recently.
"We try to be careful about trumpeting the good things we do – including the $1.93 million in disaster-relief funds we contributed following 9/11. But this email is just wrong and we feel the need to point that out," Michels wrote.
Snopes.com, the rumor-busting website, reported that the email began circulating again in November of last year when popular interest picked up about federal bailout money going to the U.S. auto industry.
As was the case involving Toyota (and other auto companies falsely maligned by the anonymous email), forwarded emails should probably not be considered a good source for accurate information.
"So if this piece of malicious gossip should make its way to you, just remember, please, that in this brave new world of information distribution, it’s not always possible to believe what you read," Michels said in his blog post.
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