Many of you have seen the viral rumor that Pepsi Co. was forced to change the name of their Sierra Mist soda in response to a trademark clash with social media influencer, Cierra Mist.

The influencer claims that Pepsi Co. sent her a cease and desist letter demanding she stop using her name. According to her, in response, she did some research and learned that Pepsi Co.’s trademark Registrations had lapsed, which promoted her to file a trademark application of her own, in order to block Pepsi Co. from their rights to the Sierra Mist name. She says that after her plan was successful, they offered to buy the brand back from her for millions of dollars, but she refused.

Upon fact check, this was determined to be false.

Pepsi Co. still owns multiple trademark registrations for Sierra Mist, while there are no registrations or applications for a "Cierra Mist." Instead, it seems that the soda giant simply decided it was due for a rebrand and formula change, so it pivoted to a new lemon-lime beverage called "Starry."

This same influencer is rumored to have spread some other lies in the past, so we are not surprised.