Ben & Jerry‘s is facing calls for a boycott after the ice cream giant called on July 4 for the U.S. to return land to Native Americans.

The company said the U.S. should start by returning Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills to the Lakota Sioux tribe. 

In its Independence Day message, the company said the federal holiday ignores some hard realities.

Vermont-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s in a Fourth of July statement called for the return of “stolen Indigenous land” starting with Mount Rushmore.

“This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it,” Ben & Jerry’s said on its Twitter page Tuesday.

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says she felt abandoned by Bud Light after facing “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” over her partnership with the beer giant.

In a video posted Thursday to Instagram and TikTok, she said she “was waiting for the brand to reach out to me. But they never did.” She said she should have spoken out sooner but was afraid and hoped things would get better — but they didn’t.

Thousands of Reddit discussion forums have gone dark this week to protest a new policy that will charge some third-party apps to access data on the site, leading to worries about content moderation and accessibility.

“Reddit is killing third-party applications (and itself)," multiple subreddits wrote in posts seen on the platform's homepage this week.

The new fees are part of broader changes to Reddit's API, or application programming interface, that the company announced recently.

It's pretty easy to piss people off on Reddit. Less so to piss off seemingly everyone on the platform.

Still, Reddit’s management has succeeded in doing just that as it weathers protests over its decision to charge for access to its API. That ruling risks putting the company in a death spiral as users revolt, the most dedicated community caretakers quit, and the vibrant discussions move to other platforms.

A number of popular subreddits restricted users from accessing information from June 12-14 as a form of protest against Reddit's new policies that they say are severely hampering third-party apps. 

A subreddit is a topic-specific community on the website Reddit. 

Subreddits range from broad topics such as "r/WorldNews" to more niche interests, such as specific sports teams, locations or hobbies.

Target shares took another leg down on Thursday as more troubles mount for the retailer. 

Shares are on pace for the longest losing streak in 23 years and headed for a 10th straight session of losses, approaching a three-year low of $126.75.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Target stock on Thursday from "overweight" to "neutral," with analysts citing the possibility of a decline in sales due to consumers pulling back spending amid persistent inflation.

Bud Light has announced that the brand is donating $200,000 to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) despite facing an ongoing boycott over its partnership with social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a biological man who identifies as a transgender woman. 

Parent company Anheuser-Busch announced the donation to the NGLCC, which defines itself as “the business voice of the LGBT community,” in a May 30th press release titled “Bud Light And The NGLCC Continue To Empower LGBTQ+ Owned Small Businesses Across America.” 

Corporate America's commitment to LGBTQ+ causes, messages and products is under an intense spotlight during Pride Month this year.

Why it matters: Companies like Target and Bud Light — which both caved after right-wing backlashes to LGBTQ-themed products and promotions — suddenly face extreme pressure after years of supporting Pride events without issue.

They're trying to delicately two-step their way through the vitriol, but consumers increasingly want them to take a stand with conviction.

The start of June marks the beginning of Pride month around the U.S. and some parts of the world, a season intended to celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ communities and to protest against attacks on hard-won civil rights gains.

This year’s Pride takes place in a contentious political climate in which some state legislators have sought to ban drag shows, prohibit gender-affirming care and limit how teachers can talk about sexuality and gender in the classroom.