SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk has urged his 227 million social media followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.
The Tesla tycoon accused the streaming platform of promoting what he describes as transgender propaganda.
Musk joined a culture war campaign launched by conservative social media account Libs of TikTok.
The campaign cited the animated series “Dead End: Paranormal Park” and Netflix’s corporate diversity efforts as reasons to drop the service.
Show creator Hamish Steele faced accusations about social media remarks regarding conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Conservatives viewed Steele’s comments about Kirk’s September assassination as disrespectful.
Netflix shares fell two percent on Wednesday as the controversy gained traction.
The stock declined as much as another two percent on Thursday during Wall Street trading.
Musk wrote “Cancel Netflix” in a Wednesday post on his platform X.
His message quoted another post made by Libs of TikTok.
That shared post contained screenshots of a Netflix company report about diversity.
The report highlighted increased numbers of non-white directors and lead actors in Netflix programs.
Musk later encouraged followers to “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.”
Steele addressed the controversy in now-deleted Bluesky posts calling the accusations “lies and slander.”
Musk has personal connections to transgender issues through his family.
His eldest daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson publicly transitioned in 2022.
She legally changed both her name and gender identity that year.
Musk previously claimed his child was “killed” by what he called the “woke mind virus.”
He attributed this influence to an elite California school his daughter attended. – AFP