Fact Check: Did Disney+ lose millions of subscribers after cutting ties with Elon Musk? Viral article debunked

An article claiming Disney has lost millions of subscribers after they tried to cancel Elon Musk has gone viral on social media. The article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times stated that the company lost more than 23 million subscribers overnight after it decided to cut ties with Musk due to the latter's alleged mention of the word 'Pizzagate'.

The article also mentioned that Disney’s head of marketing, Joe Barron, had also confirmed the news by saying, “It’s unprecedented."

“It’s unprecedented. We had no idea that many conspiracy theorists were tuned in," Barron said.

In addition, the article further mentioned:

“The Walt Disney Company, which decided long ago that it would align itself with woke ideologies, just found out what happens when you mess with Americans and their freedom of speech. After the company cut ties with Elon Musk because he mentioned the word “Pizzagate,” 23 million freedom-loving American patriots cut their ties with Disney Plus.”

Disney did not lose 23 million subscribers: Fake news debunked. (Image via The Dunning-Kruger Times)

Although the article has stirred the pot online, neither the company nor any other reliable media outlet has addressed the claims about the company suffering such huge losses. Hence, the news about 23 million subscribers canceling Disney is fake and holds no truth.

Moreover, Disney+ did not make any announcement of cutting ties with Elon Musk or Twitter, now X, due to the alleged “Pizzagate” controversy. On the contrary, the entertainment conglomerate has been in the limelight after Disney and several other major advertisers suspended all of its ads from X after a media report claimed that the ads of various companies, including Disney, were placed alongside anti-Semitic posts.

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Disney+ did not lose millions of subscribers: Fake news debunked as article was published by a satirical website

Social media users were left surprised when they came across the article that claimed that the company lost a whopping number of subscribers as they decided to part ways with Elon Musk. However, no such incident took place, and there is no official report of the brand losing a huge number of subscribers.

The article has been published by a satirical website, which has posted many such fake articles in the past. The About Us section of the website reads:

“Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.”

The company did not lose 23 million subscribers: Fake news debunked. (Image via The Dunning-Kruger Times)

The Dunning-Kruger Times article emerged just after, in a recent tweet, Elon Musk stirred up the long-debunked PizzaGate controversy, a far-right conspiracy theory from 2016. This theory falsely claimed that a D.C. pizzeria was the center of a secret satanic child s*x ring involving the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders.

While the news about the brand losing 23 million subscribers is fake, the company is seeing a lot of backlash from the masses after it decided to withdraw its ads from Twitter. Furthermore, many social media users have also tweeted about boycotting the brand and other companies like IBM, Amazon, Apple, etc., who also suspended their ads on the platform.

However, there is no official confirmation of the brands losing their business or subscribers. Nonetheless, this incident once again highlights the importance of verifying sources before sharing them, as it can mislead the masses.