Joke Netflix story spreads following Kamala Harris donation
feed_watermarkJuly 31, 2024
The Netflix co-founder's support for Mr Harris has not triggered a sell off of the company's stocks. Image by AAP
AAP FACTCHECK - Netflix stocks plummeted almost 40 per cent with $US2 billion wiped off the streaming giant's value just four hours after it donated to Kamala Harris's US presidential campaign, social media users claim.
This is false. The story is a joke published by a satirical media outlet.
The claim appears in Facebook posts featuring an image of the US vice president and Democratic candidate laughing.
"Netflix stock tumbles almost 40% after big campaign donation announcement - $2 billion lost in 4 hours," overlay text on the image read.
Former Victorian state MP Bernie Finn shared the image with his own caption in a Facebook post: "A $7m donation to lose $2 billion. That worked well for them. Idiots!"
Former state MP Bernie Finn shared the satirical post as indicating he thought it was real.
United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet commented on Mr Finn's post: "I've just cancelled my Netflix account."
Netflix co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings donated $7 million to a pro-Harris political action committee after she announced her presidential bid on July 21.
He said it was the biggest donation he had made to a single candidate. However, there is no suggestion the money came from Netflix.
The US Federal Election Commission has stated that corporations are generally prohibited from making donations.
The viral image being shared featured a small graphic in the bottom left corner.
The graphic included the word SATIRE in capital letters and the acronym ALLOD, which stands for America's Last Line of Defence.
Netflix boss Reed Hastings says his donation to Kamala Harris was his largest to a candidate.
ALLOD has described itself as a "network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery," and notable public figures have previously fallen for its content.
ALLOD's social media posts linked to the supposed Netflix story on one of its satirical websites, the Dunning Kruger Times, which stated in the About Us section that it published satire.
"Everything on this website is fiction. If you believe that is real you should have your head examined," the website said.
The accompanying story about Netflix and Ms Harris featured a quote from a fictional "Netflix Director of Democrat Propaganda".
There has been no significant movement in Netflix's stock price since Mr Hastings' revealed his personal donation to Harris's campaign.
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