Boxes of Kellogg cereal at a supermarket in Omaha, Neb. The company said last week it was pulling advertising from Breitbart News, sparking a boycott by the right-wing conservative site. (Nati Harnik/AP Photo)

Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes aren't normally the kind of brands to get caught in the political crosshairs. But in the aftermath of a combustible election, Kellogg cereals and a growing number of consumer brands have suddenly found themselves the unexpected target of boycotts and hot-tempered rhetoric.

Kellogg said last week it would pull advertising from Breitbart News, the far-right web site that its critics say trades in racist and sexist content. In response, Breitbart called on readers to boycott the company, devoted a chunk of its front page to stories about Kellogg or the boycott, and sparked a social media outcry. Consumers on both the right and the left piled in, saying they would either stop buying the company's products -- or conversely, stock up on them.

The maker of Eggo waffles and Pop-Tarts is only the latest American corporation caught in the crossfire. In the weeks since the election, companies have navigated a sharply politicized environment, one that has entailed calls for boycotts, explosive social media responses to executive comments and thorny interactions between front-line workers and their customers.

Read more about how they're responding -- and questioning what to do next -- at OnLeadership.

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